Dieselman
Banned
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2003
- Messages
- 34,199
- Car
- Peugeot 403 Convertible
That was the old VM Moturi engine, rough, but strong as an Ox.
Most unreliable car ???
- Thread starter crockers
- Start date
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- car unreliable
That was the old VM Moturi engine, rough, but strong as an Ox.
Hi,
As a student I had the missfortune to own a BL 1100 bought with 8 months MOT. The first trip I drove about 5 miles and smoke was coming out the back, people were opening windows to flag me down. Turns out the exhaust pipe was wrapped in felt to stop it rattling! The next trip in pouring rain I braked for a roundabout and a wave of water gushed over the 3inch high floor cross member from the rear floor pan. All the floor and sills were shot with rust but only on one side. The owner lived near the sea and always parked his car next to the sea wall!
When the clutch, starter, cylinder head then brakes leaked fluid I had to call it a day. Strangely, I limped it in and traded it for a nearly new Mini at the local BL dealership, the salesman was so keen to sell he gave me a trade in of more than I paid and never even inspected the car, just the documents. Still I learned a lot about cars and what to look out for when you buy. Now modern cars never seem to rot like they used to, thank goodness. Every Sunday would see people out with plastic filler and fiber glass kits, real artists some of them! I was a whizz with a bit of newspaper and my spray can of Connought green.
Happy days, maybe not!
Don
As a student I had the missfortune to own a BL 1100 bought with 8 months MOT. The first trip I drove about 5 miles and smoke was coming out the back, people were opening windows to flag me down. Turns out the exhaust pipe was wrapped in felt to stop it rattling! The next trip in pouring rain I braked for a roundabout and a wave of water gushed over the 3inch high floor cross member from the rear floor pan. All the floor and sills were shot with rust but only on one side. The owner lived near the sea and always parked his car next to the sea wall!
When the clutch, starter, cylinder head then brakes leaked fluid I had to call it a day. Strangely, I limped it in and traded it for a nearly new Mini at the local BL dealership, the salesman was so keen to sell he gave me a trade in of more than I paid and never even inspected the car, just the documents. Still I learned a lot about cars and what to look out for when you buy. Now modern cars never seem to rot like they used to, thank goodness. Every Sunday would see people out with plastic filler and fiber glass kits, real artists some of them! I was a whizz with a bit of newspaper and my spray can of Connought green.
Happy days, maybe not!
Don
John Martin
New Member
HI Dieselman,
The engine in my 2.5 Granada IN 1986 was the PEUGOET non turbo,I bought it new from the local Ford dealer, to save money it was the Taxi model and it had various differences from the normal Granada.
REF TO CROCKERS comment yes true in 4 yrs did 6000 miles lost £15k on the car and under pressure sold it to to a friend despite me telling him not to buy it..he got it for £5k he in turn sold it after a year for a new peugoet, guess he had enough of the Mercedes 320CDI..
JOHN
The engine in my 2.5 Granada IN 1986 was the PEUGOET non turbo,I bought it new from the local Ford dealer, to save money it was the Taxi model and it had various differences from the normal Granada.
REF TO CROCKERS comment yes true in 4 yrs did 6000 miles lost £15k on the car and under pressure sold it to to a friend despite me telling him not to buy it..he got it for £5k he in turn sold it after a year for a new peugoet, guess he had enough of the Mercedes 320CDI..
JOHN
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DSLiverpool
MB Enthusiast
In 30 years of motoring and in some years 50k pa miles I have no tales of woe or heartache. 15 years were company cars so new and luckily trouble free (loved my Mazda 626 1991 model) first car was triumph 1300 with no brake lights and shot big ends cost £90 lasted 6 months replaced by daytona yellow 1600 gls Capri in 1981 the ONLY car that has needed engine work in my history!! It's camshaft went (common) . From memory a x reg 82 Scirocco mk2 GTi Turbo Technics 1600 was so violent in it's acceleration that the drivers seat height adjuster (tilt ratchet mech) stripped it's teeth and a mate had to sit behind me pushing the seat all the way home - it was then welded up. I'm thinking hard but cannot think of anything else apart from my truly loved 1998 Vectra GSi (one of the first hand made ones sort of) kept getting it's wheels scraped on the dealers ramp whenever it was serviced - 2 new wheels twice !! Guess I'm a lucky boy as my car list includes potential dogs such as Granada Scorpio 2.0 and cosworth, Citroën bx 1.9 and turbo d, the Vectra, Renault 25, 2.5 gls mondeo and more.
Ain't motoring grand ;-)
Ain't motoring grand ;-)
Easy. A 1973 rattle-can-green-over-orange 1973 Mini Clubman bought for £175 from the auction in Kelty? Kinross? I can't remember.
I needed a Mini into which I could swap the hot engine out of my Stimpson CS+II.
It went surprisingly quickly (well, I could keep up with XR2's anyway). The brakes were never right, however, the shell had loads of rust (A panels, sills, floor, boot, etc), the electrics were all over the shop and it could (and would) set itself on fire from time to time. It had a fairly aggressive cam and an open Dellorto 40 which would spit back unburnt petrol vapour through a hole in the buldkhead (don'k ask....) and into the sound deadening felt. One spark was all it would take (see dodgy electrics, above).
The time I always remember was when the bonnet flew open as I was crossing the Forth Road Bridge. I was young at the time and was making, shall we say, good progress when this happened. The force was so violent the bonnet actually wrapped itself over the roof. I had to slow from very high speed to zero whilst judging the direction I was going in through through the side window. In a ridiculously twitch short wheelbase car with dodgy, grabby brakes.
Came to a halt, amazed at my luck/skill and then had a second heart stopper when I realised I was parked in the outside lane of the motorway. In the dark.... AAAAARRRGHHHHH!! I limped over the other side of the bridge, found somewhere to park, got the lump hammer out the the boot and sorted it
Still got to the pub. REALLY enjoyed my first pint.
I needed a Mini into which I could swap the hot engine out of my Stimpson CS+II.
It went surprisingly quickly (well, I could keep up with XR2's anyway). The brakes were never right, however, the shell had loads of rust (A panels, sills, floor, boot, etc), the electrics were all over the shop and it could (and would) set itself on fire from time to time. It had a fairly aggressive cam and an open Dellorto 40 which would spit back unburnt petrol vapour through a hole in the buldkhead (don'k ask....) and into the sound deadening felt. One spark was all it would take (see dodgy electrics, above).
The time I always remember was when the bonnet flew open as I was crossing the Forth Road Bridge. I was young at the time and was making, shall we say, good progress when this happened. The force was so violent the bonnet actually wrapped itself over the roof. I had to slow from very high speed to zero whilst judging the direction I was going in through through the side window. In a ridiculously twitch short wheelbase car with dodgy, grabby brakes.
Came to a halt, amazed at my luck/skill and then had a second heart stopper when I realised I was parked in the outside lane of the motorway. In the dark.... AAAAARRRGHHHHH!! I limped over the other side of the bridge, found somewhere to park, got the lump hammer out the the boot and sorted it
Still got to the pub. REALLY enjoyed my first pint.
brucemillar
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2010
- Messages
- 8,663
- Car
- C55 AMG Wagon - W124 300te 4matic Wagon - BMW 4.8is X5 E53 - SWB Pajero 3.5 V6 24v
Toyota Supra 3.0l Turbo
Swimming pool of rain water in the spare wheel well. This was kept at a constant level by the absorption capabilities of the carpets. Random cut - dead - no go. This adds to the driving experience on the motorway.
Crankshaft pulley fell off, sawing it's way upwards and creasing the bonnet- This was down to the pulley bolt failing. It also explained the constant vibration that I was complaining about through the pedals (Toyota said that was normal)
I eventually parked the car on the grass outside their headquarters in Surrey with a big sign on it detailing the problems it had had. Car was taken back same day and offer of replacement or a nice shiny new Carlos Sainz GT4 in black. I took the GT4 and never looked back.
Swimming pool of rain water in the spare wheel well. This was kept at a constant level by the absorption capabilities of the carpets. Random cut - dead - no go. This adds to the driving experience on the motorway.
Crankshaft pulley fell off, sawing it's way upwards and creasing the bonnet- This was down to the pulley bolt failing. It also explained the constant vibration that I was complaining about through the pedals (Toyota said that was normal)
I eventually parked the car on the grass outside their headquarters in Surrey with a big sign on it detailing the problems it had had. Car was taken back same day and offer of replacement or a nice shiny new Carlos Sainz GT4 in black. I took the GT4 and never looked back.
davidjpowell
MB Enthusiast
Renault Laguna II.
It was a company car and in 2 years, 60,000 miles I counted 25 trips to the dealers.
Power steering failled and leaked, a lot. Took the dealer 3 goes to solve poor fuel economy (dirty air filter - just after a service when it 'should' have been changed). It spent a month at the dealers in Leeds care of the company's fleet manager, where it had all sorts of repairs - mechancial and electrical. They rejected it twice.
Depsite this I kind of liked the car, but had no faith in it whatsoever.
Was ever so slightly upset when I discovered that Renault had offered to go halves on an early termination, and my boss had said no to forking out £1,500 which was about 1% of what I had earned for the business that year, and provided 50% of the hassle in my life.
It was a company car and in 2 years, 60,000 miles I counted 25 trips to the dealers.
Power steering failled and leaked, a lot. Took the dealer 3 goes to solve poor fuel economy (dirty air filter - just after a service when it 'should' have been changed). It spent a month at the dealers in Leeds care of the company's fleet manager, where it had all sorts of repairs - mechancial and electrical. They rejected it twice.
Depsite this I kind of liked the car, but had no faith in it whatsoever.
Was ever so slightly upset when I discovered that Renault had offered to go halves on an early termination, and my boss had said no to forking out £1,500 which was about 1% of what I had earned for the business that year, and provided 50% of the hassle in my life.
sportyreptile
Active Member
Citroen Xantia 1.9TD, the hydro-b*ll*cks leaked everywhere regularly, I'd come out in the morning and the car would be down on the suspension and looked like it had bled to death overnight.
P38a (series 2) 4.6 HSE Range Rover, everything that could go wrong did apart from the Romano LPG system, never had a problem with that but then Land Rover didn't make it. To be fair to the old girl it had 260,000 miles on it when I decided enough was enough and I scrapped it.
P38a (series 2) 4.6 HSE Range Rover, everything that could go wrong did apart from the Romano LPG system, never had a problem with that but then Land Rover didn't make it. To be fair to the old girl it had 260,000 miles on it when I decided enough was enough and I scrapped it.
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Peugeot 307 Diesel - utter rubbish. New Gearbox, New engine, new dashboard all within 14,000 miles. Swapped for a Golf TDi that did 140k without a hitch.
Ownder a fleet of Alfa Romeos (hence the username) - none of which broke down.
My 300d W124 broke down once.
Nothing else has really broken down properly....
Ownder a fleet of Alfa Romeos (hence the username) - none of which broke down.
My 300d W124 broke down once.
Nothing else has really broken down properly....
A TVR Tuscan, only had it for about 6 months but just found it too frustrating to live with, in the time I owned it:
Alternator failure
The wiring was so bad the fuel pump only got power to it intermittently resulting in the car randomly cutting out.
Oil leak
AC was hopeless
Before I had it, it had had 2 new clutches already and had only covered 30k miles, as well as needing a complete engine rebuild at 18k.
It was horrible, ever minor noise you would think was impending doom, and I'm glad I owned one as I still consider it to be one of the best looking cars of modern times but, never again.
Alternator failure
The wiring was so bad the fuel pump only got power to it intermittently resulting in the car randomly cutting out.
Oil leak
AC was hopeless
Before I had it, it had had 2 new clutches already and had only covered 30k miles, as well as needing a complete engine rebuild at 18k.
It was horrible, ever minor noise you would think was impending doom, and I'm glad I owned one as I still consider it to be one of the best looking cars of modern times but, never again.
Deadhead
Active Member
My first new car was a Citroen 2CV. As my first day with the car proceeded it became apparent that the battery wasn't being charged. That was OK though because I could use the starting handle to fire it up when I took it back to the dealer.
Worst car ever was an early VW Sharan. Lost count of the times that it had to go back to have the aircon control unit replaced. Bits of the interior trim were always falling off. After 9 months the water pump destroyed itself in the outside lane of the A10 between Orleans and Paris. To be fair VW booked me into a hotel whilst they sourced replacement parts. And they paid my wife's train fare home. Of course their warranty only covered 2 hotel nights. And it took them 5 days to find a water pump!
Don't get me started on the failure of VW dealers to keep any parts whatsoever in stock. Every single piece of warranty work involved at least two trips.
Worst car ever was an early VW Sharan. Lost count of the times that it had to go back to have the aircon control unit replaced. Bits of the interior trim were always falling off. After 9 months the water pump destroyed itself in the outside lane of the A10 between Orleans and Paris. To be fair VW booked me into a hotel whilst they sourced replacement parts. And they paid my wife's train fare home. Of course their warranty only covered 2 hotel nights. And it took them 5 days to find a water pump!
Don't get me started on the failure of VW dealers to keep any parts whatsoever in stock. Every single piece of warranty work involved at least two trips.
Hmm, I considered a Cerbera once. Local chap proceeded to tell me what he had done on his 6 year old Crime-era and that put me off for life!
As a concept? Yes
As a practical suggestion? **** no!
NIPhil
Active Member
1990 Renault 21 Turbo Quadra..........an unmitigated disaster
(Thankfully I took out the extended warranty)
Electric window motors burnt out a few times.
Front discs cracked and were replaced twice, (Then I gave up and bought uprated ones from Brodie Brittain Racing)
Multiple gearbox and synchromesh problems.
Alarm kept going off so they replaced it with a new one about an hour before I headed away on holiday - when I returned there were numerous notes put through my letterbox pleading with me to switch the alarm off
Hoses near the turbo failed on a regular basis - the boost circuit seemed to get a repair, then leak elsewhere, get another repair, then leak somewhere else
The car broke down regularly. Once when it was returned to me they said the crankshaft had sheared
Clutch problems on a regular basis.
Every time the car had a problem it was off the road as parts were difficult to obtain & always had to be shipped from France
I have never had another Renault...............
(Thankfully I took out the extended warranty)
Electric window motors burnt out a few times.
Front discs cracked and were replaced twice, (Then I gave up and bought uprated ones from Brodie Brittain Racing)
Multiple gearbox and synchromesh problems.
Alarm kept going off so they replaced it with a new one about an hour before I headed away on holiday - when I returned there were numerous notes put through my letterbox pleading with me to switch the alarm off
Hoses near the turbo failed on a regular basis - the boost circuit seemed to get a repair, then leak elsewhere, get another repair, then leak somewhere else
The car broke down regularly. Once when it was returned to me they said the crankshaft had sheared
Clutch problems on a regular basis.
Every time the car had a problem it was off the road as parts were difficult to obtain & always had to be shipped from France
I have never had another Renault...............
Ian B Walker
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2003
- Messages
- 7,668
- Location
- Freckleton
- Car
- 300-24, saloon and coupe, E300 24 valve diesel estate
Renault 18 for me. Bought it brand new in Germany. Went to collect at dealers and glove box catch was broken. Mended on site with a plastic spoon. Car would not start (no petrol) dealers wouldn't put any fuel in unless I paid, big argument which I won. The car would never run right, was heavy on fuel and vibrated. Numerous trips to multiple dealers who all said it was fine. 18 month into ownership and the gearbox let go. 24 months into ownership and the boot was so rusty it made a 210 look pristine. 25 months part ex'ed it for a Volvo GLT
jonm
Active Member
Mk 2 cavalier 1600, official name should have been 'GM's patented camshaft destroying machine'..in short over 5 yrs
3 new camshafts
electronic ignition gremlins (kept getting stranded) but no one could find the actual fault. Fault would magically fix itself just as the AA arrived. Eventually, I left it with a mechanic friend to drive around with tools in the back..
Brake callipers..kept siezing up (seals behind the slider tender to fail)..2 new ones.
Blown head gasket... announced itself by blowing the side out of the radiator.
Snapped engine mount.
New clutch.
Strangest thing is that it had the uncanny ability to de-tune itself overnight (nothing to do with the ignition problem that was eventually solved).
Got to the point where I knew I wouldn't get to my destination, just had no idea as to why...
Then again it wasnt new....
3 new camshafts
electronic ignition gremlins (kept getting stranded) but no one could find the actual fault. Fault would magically fix itself just as the AA arrived. Eventually, I left it with a mechanic friend to drive around with tools in the back..
Brake callipers..kept siezing up (seals behind the slider tender to fail)..2 new ones.
Blown head gasket... announced itself by blowing the side out of the radiator.
Snapped engine mount.
New clutch.
Strangest thing is that it had the uncanny ability to de-tune itself overnight (nothing to do with the ignition problem that was eventually solved).
Got to the point where I knew I wouldn't get to my destination, just had no idea as to why...
Then again it wasnt new....
James1976
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2010
- Messages
- 218
- Location
- Borough, London
- Car
- 94 300 SL-24 in Bornite, 2010 Smart Fortwo Passion
2008 BMW 325i M-Sport Convertible.
Bought new at vast expense (sadly with cash so I couldn't reject it under a finance agreement).
Sparkling graphite paint was cr@p, flies burnt into it after an hour, the roof leaked, then squeaked, then leaked again then squeaked again, the air con smelt from day one, resistors in the air con system went, then the roof stopped working as the sensors went, it was one of the famous ones that cracked alloys so it duly did two, taking both run flat tyres at the same time. They cost about £800 each.
Add to this that I went past a gritter which stripped the paint off the front bumper (had been smart repaired from new and I wasn't told), the high pressure fuel pump blew up and then, when it was in for the front bumper repaint the garage parked it outside and a transit went into the back of it taking out the boot, wings etc.
I went completely ballistic at this point both to the dealer and BMW head office and after threatening legal action and dragging it through the press a year in they agreed to buy it back; the replacement was an excellent car which I miss - lots :-(
LL08 RFK - caveat emptor it's a pile of sh!te.......
Most reliable car - my first, 85 Polo C, never let me down or broke anything.
Bought new at vast expense (sadly with cash so I couldn't reject it under a finance agreement).
Sparkling graphite paint was cr@p, flies burnt into it after an hour, the roof leaked, then squeaked, then leaked again then squeaked again, the air con smelt from day one, resistors in the air con system went, then the roof stopped working as the sensors went, it was one of the famous ones that cracked alloys so it duly did two, taking both run flat tyres at the same time. They cost about £800 each.
Add to this that I went past a gritter which stripped the paint off the front bumper (had been smart repaired from new and I wasn't told), the high pressure fuel pump blew up and then, when it was in for the front bumper repaint the garage parked it outside and a transit went into the back of it taking out the boot, wings etc.
I went completely ballistic at this point both to the dealer and BMW head office and after threatening legal action and dragging it through the press a year in they agreed to buy it back; the replacement was an excellent car which I miss - lots :-(
LL08 RFK - caveat emptor it's a pile of sh!te.......
Most reliable car - my first, 85 Polo C, never let me down or broke anything.
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2007
- Messages
- 20,573
- Location
- Portsmouth, Hampshire.
- Car
- E55K SL500 E250X2 Smart44 Brabus Track car E450Cabriolet X350 Pick up
+1 my most unreliable car. 3 turbos, head gasket etc etc etc etc etc
1990 Renault 21 Turbo Quadra..........an unmitigated disaster
(Thankfully I took out the extended warranty)
Electric window motors burnt out a few times.
Front discs cracked and were replaced twice, (Then I gave up and bought uprated ones from Brodie Brittain Racing)
Multiple gearbox and synchromesh problems.
Alarm kept going off so they replaced it with a new one about an hour before I headed away on holiday - when I returned there were numerous notes put through my letterbox pleading with me to switch the alarm off
Hoses near the turbo failed on a regular basis - the boost circuit seemed to get a repair, then leak elsewhere, get another repair, then leak somewhere else
The car broke down regularly. Once when it was returned to me they said the crankshaft had sheared
Clutch problems on a regular basis.
Every time the car had a problem it was off the road as parts were difficult to obtain & always had to be shipped from France
I have never had another Renault...............
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