tony de wonderful

There is a hardtop version.

SRSport

There are many, many more reliable marques than any German ones. According to the Reliability Index all these marques are ranked higher than the highest ranked German car.

Honda
Suzuki
Toyota
Ford
Kia
Mazda
Mitsubishi
Subaru
Smart
Daewoo
Hyundai
Peugeot
Lexus
Skoda (although sort of German)
Rover
Nissan
Citroen
Fiat
Vauxhall
Seat
Volvo
Chrysler
Mini (although now owned by BMW)

Out of 35 marques the highest ranked German car is VW - ranked 24th!!

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

Erm...... oh

yellowvanman

A convertible with a hardtop fitted is a coupe? Erm No! It's still a convertible.

yellowvanman

The 2.5 feels slow and heavy, certainly compared to the Honda S2000.

SRSport

Exactly, I have bought 2 German cars out of 6 car I have owned and they have been the least reliable by a long way.

However when you look at the total cost over the years of ownership they offer less depreciation and my Mercedes with better performance than my Impreza offers much better fuel consumptions and tax due to the Germans ability to make efficient engines.

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

It,l be quicker than my 1.8 MX5 and more fuel efficient

he says ( hopefully ) LOL

yellowvanman

It will be quicker than the MX, but uses a load more fuel, and no where near as much fun to drive.

I test drove a couple of these earlier this year. Nice and solid feeling, smooth 6 cyl engine, nice car. But uninspiring.

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

Hmmmm...... well I havent driven one yet......and it,l have to be fun or theres just no point......and as an aside on a run from Essex to Lincs 360 miles round trip on mostly "B" roads) it averages 32 MPG.......not great for a little engine housed in just enough tin to stop the back wheels hitting the fronts

...... but yes , every journey is an ear to ear grin

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

How old is that list?

Rover??


Honda----Superb..And always have been
Suzuki----Make great cars,very low tech and uninspiring though..
Toyota----Still good but diesels are poor for reliabilty..
Ford-----Build quailty is shocking and old tech...
Kia------Better than most people think...But again,old tech..
Mazda---Unsung hero's...Although the RX8 is tosh in every aspect.
Mitsubishi----Great cars...Most of the range are unchanged for the early 90's.
Subaru---Good but agricultural
Smart-----Rubbish..
Daewoo----Staid and poor---Do they still make them ?
Hyundai-----A lot better than most,but prices are on the rise.
Peugeot------Just crap...They are more reliable than a Renault,but thats it..
Lexus----To be expected
Skoda (although sort of German)---Hmmm..only as good as VW counterparts.
Rover---Honda engined cars good,rover engined bad..
Nissan----In bed with Renault...Reliabilty has gone downhill
Citroen----French pap...
Fiat----Poor quality,but at least they have a bit of style.
Vauxhall-----Probably the most unreliable cars on the road.
Seat---See Skoda comment
Volvo----Always good,but Renault sourced parts make aspects very bad.
Chrysler---Niche market that use various outsourced engines..
Mini (although now owned by BMW)-----Nothing good about a mini..Engines/gearboxes in fact anything can break at any given time..


When you have manufacturers like BMW/Mercedes who are market leaders in innovation,then if the car is loaded with tech then it will make the car potentially have more problems..

A car with a 1.4 engine,5 speed box with windy windows and a single slot CD player is gonna be more reliable than a V10,7 speed sequential gearboxed car with Media Centre entertainment etc etc..

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

How about this ? ....... a last of the line Z3 2.8? and no , I dont want a Z3M

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Yea Z3M are 5 times the price of a 2.8 anyway.....lol...

The Z3 was a great car,and the 2.8 had a good turn of speed about it.. The Z4 is a more complete car alround though..

tony de wonderful

I probably should have said a two door sports car.

SRSport

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

If I remember rightly they take into account all cars over the last 8 years or so.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Do you really believe that list ?

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Yea.....

Makes you think why you didnt have one instead of the boring eurobox you have just bought...

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

Its not the initial purchase price that puts me off ( i,ve been offered a Z3M off a good friend for a tempting price) ...... its the running expenses, as a pensioner every penny counts

Soooo I think I,m going to end up keeping this ....

tony de wonderful

The Golf is a bit more roomy and has space in the back, is AWD and has a nice note.

SRSport

Based on my personal experience, yes!

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Really......

Oh well,agree to disagree and all that.....lol..

Has your Mercedes been very unreliable then?

Fastmike.....What is the Z3M that you have been offered??

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

its a "R" reg metallic grey roadster black interior ..... I dont remember the mileage off the top of my head

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm..

Get some details if you can..

The grey colour (steel)i thought was on 2001> models only...

Get a price too.......

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

I,l get the details off him tomorrow ..£7000 was discused......... its deffenatly "R" reg

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

LOL .........just spoke to him .......its Cosmos black ( looked dark grey to me) 107,000 miles and was sold yesterday for £6000 .....to make way for a 98 Z3M roadster....Estoril Blue.....50,000 miles and at the moment he isnt interested in parting with it......but it,l be for sale later this year I,m certain.

SRSport

I bought it with 27,000 miles and have now done 30,000 miles where in 6 months it has needed;

steering rack,
complete front anti roll bar
front left calliper
front right shock
front springs,
starter motor,
stereo intermittently cuts out
front left window went down on their own
the 4 main doors have been replaced due to rust,
the tailgate now has rust and the matter is currently being referred to Mercedes Germany.

Fortunately I have only had to contribute £100 due to it being covered by the warranty, but that does not excuse anything.

Second most unreliable car Ive had was the VW. The Corsa, Ford Cougar and Impreza Ive had before seem positively bullet proof.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That is shocking.....How old is the car and what model??

Were all the suspension parts fitted chasing a noise of some kind,or have they all actually failed?

I have had a long line of BMW 5 series and they have been exemplary...Fitting nothing but service items over an 8 years period...The newest 5 series i have had was 6yrs old too....

Only ever had 2 Mercedes and they were both Cosworths,both very capable cars but the driving position was horrendous!!

I think all cars are going down the same route....maximum profit,minimum build quality..

SRSport

Its a B200 Turbo. 2006.

The above list is ALL items failing. I forgot to mention a suspension top cap failed as well, so you can add that to the list.

Apparently Mercedes used a lot of cost cutting methods to make more money for themselves and skipped on processes such as dipping the steel sheets which is causing almost every A and B class before 2007 to rust away.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

@ SRS...Whats the mileage?


@Mike........Thanks for that...

Currently have my beady eye on a Z4m roadster...

SRSport

27,000 when I bought it. Just ticked over 30,000 miles now.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

^^^^^

Thats just terrible....