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  • brianw999
    replied
    Originally posted by Cam View Post
    Brian...a French car...really...I thought I knew you...

    Everyone's allowed one little hiccup in their driving career !!
    Actually, it's quite a nice car except for the fuel economy, or rather, lack of economy !
    32 mpg urban and 36 mpg motorway cruise, mostly caused by it only having 5 gears. At 70 mph it's revving at 3600 'ish and really needs a 6th gear. It's only now in 2009 that Renault have started putting six speed boxes in all their ranges.

    I retire soon and will have to go for something more economical. It will need to be no more than 1.4 litre (cheap tax and insurance), around 3 years old and have enough room inside for a fat bastard like me to be comfortable. Not bothered about high performance, I'm quite happy cruising around at 70 - max 80 on motorways and slower on ordinary roads.

    Any suggestions ? It needs to be reliable, reasonably priced parts and a good dealer/maintenance network. I'm thinking Honda ?
    I've had my adrenalin rush over the last 30 years driving ambulances and latterly, rapid response cars. Tear-arsing around in your own car just costs money with the chance of the old bill (police to our American cousins) adding to the costs when they catch you....and frankly, driving around these days is getting to be a chore now. No fun any more.

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  • Cam
    replied
    Brian...a French car...really...I thought I knew you...

    Leave a comment:


  • TheRealAncientMarine
    replied
    Originally posted by ASpilot2be View Post
    The first major problems came from flaws in the metal. The second one came from following directions from the manufacturer.

    I dont blame the crew for either problem. Maybe we just got a bad apple out of the bunch. Obviously people have been having good luck with the MTUs around the world.
    Only blondes and pussies actually READ instruction manuals.
    On the other hand, installing high speed diesel engines in ships that have to work for a living might not be the brightest of ideas.
    Per

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  • ASpilot2be
    replied
    Originally posted by TheRealAncientMarine View Post
    If you screw up a German, or any other nationality marine diesel engine in one year you have no f*cking clue. That ship is in serious need of new, capable engineers. Caterpillars are for shore use where you can call service 24x7.
    Per
    The first major problems came from flaws in the metal. The second one came from following directions from the manufacturer.

    I dont blame the crew for either problem. Maybe we just got a bad apple out of the bunch. Obviously people have been having good luck with the MTUs around the world.

    Leave a comment:


  • JordanD
    replied
    Originally posted by avro_arrow_25206 View Post
    To be fair, good engineering doesn't always equal good quality. You can have a great design, but the end product will still be crap if the circuits aren't welded properly etc.
    Oh I know. The Germans make some great cars as far as performance and handling, but if they can manage all of that I don't see why can't weld circuits together properly. It's a shame since there's several German cars I'd really love to own, I just don't want to fork out insane amounts of money to keep them running because of small quality problems that a Japanese car that's half the price don't have. I know complexity is an issue (more features, more problems), but Lexus and Acura seem to do ok quality wise.

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  • avro_arrow_25206
    replied
    Originally posted by JordanD View Post
    I don't get the hype around "German Engineering" when things like this seem to go wrong so often on their cars. It's not like those are new innovative features that they still have to work the kinks out of.
    To be fair, good engineering doesn't always equal good quality. You can have a great design, but the end product will still be crap if the circuits aren't welded properly etc.

    Leave a comment:


  • Shaggy
    replied
    TBH, regarding German Engineering, its very good, well concerning my car. The engine in my car is one of the best engines there has ever been.

    The cause of the problem was a loose hose in the rear window washer system, which I agree is shoddy, but something I should have spotted

    My issue is that they can charge £500 for a control circuit no bigger than a matchbox

    Leave a comment:


  • TheRealAncientMarine
    replied
    Originally posted by ASpilot2be View Post
    Agreed. We dont own any German vehicles, but the ship my Dad is based on has German engines and they give them serious headaches. When the engines were one year old one of the four had to be replaced, and getting an engine from Germany to Alaska is not cheap. Now the coolant they were told to put in the engines ate away at the engine linings and soon all the engines will have to be replaced.

    Should have gone with Caterpillar

    If you screw up a German, or any other nationality marine diesel engine in one year you have no f*cking clue. That ship is in serious need of new, capable engineers. Caterpillars are for shore use where you can call service 24x7.
    Per

    Leave a comment:


  • brianw999
    replied
    Not too certain which model of Mercedes was concerned, it may have been the 300 SLK, but Mercedes were getting so many complaints about irritating electrical failures that they disabled or removed over 1,000 electrical activities / items.

    No-one noticed the difference !!!

    Leave a comment:


  • ASpilot2be
    replied
    Originally posted by JordanD View Post
    I don't get the hype around "German Engineering" when things like this seem to go wrong so often on their cars. It's not like those are new innovative features that they still have to work the kinks out of.
    Agreed. We dont own any German vehicles, but the ship my Dad is based on has German engines and they give them serious headaches. When the engines were one year old one of the four had to be replaced, and getting an engine from Germany to Alaska is not cheap. Now the coolant they were told to put in the engines ate away at the engine linings and soon all the engines will have to be replaced.

    Should have gone with Caterpillar

    Leave a comment:


  • JordanD
    replied
    I don't get the hype around "German Engineering" when things like this seem to go wrong so often on their cars. It's not like those are new innovative features that they still have to work the kinks out of.

    Leave a comment:


  • turbotraker
    replied
    Originally posted by Shaggy View Post

    Fix will be carried out on the 16th. WAIT FOR IT..... £520
    That's why I am changing my job to the motor trade....

    Thank fk you are going to sort it, how on earth you managed to sleep at night without a fully working alarm/immob, I will never know!!

    Leave a comment:


  • brianw999
    replied
    A tip for the owners of French cars. There are businesses on the south coast of England who can arrange for the more expensive work such as ECU unit replacement etc. to be done in France at around half the price. They'll arrange your ferries, you can have a day out over the channel with a loan car for the day and it will all cost very little more than the ripoff UK charges. Ideal for a booze cruise.

    Leave a comment:


  • Shaggy
    replied
    Rip Off!!!

    They have you my the round things though unless your mechancic.

    Leave a comment:


  • brianw999
    replied
    I can sympathise.

    My second hand Renault Laguna only came with one key.

    £160 for a new key !!!! ....and it's not even one of the new credit card type.

    Leave a comment:

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