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| McGee |
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 McGee O RLY?

Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Karma :  
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| Faldo |
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 Faldo World Chat Champion

Joined: 05 Aug 2007 Karma :  
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 Posted: 23:56 - 10 May 2008 Post subject: |
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| McGee wrote: | clutch is strong. |
1st thing that popped into my head when I saw this thread title. Cost a fortune to replace. As do exhausts (on most models) so make sure that's OK too.
Never driven a 944 so can't really comment, but I'd always go for a German car over a Japanese car. ____________________ Current: ZZR1400
Previous: ZXR 400 L9, ZX-7R P5, ZZR 400, ZX-7R P6, Bandit 600, GSXR 750 Slingshot, DRZ400, DR650, ZX10R C1H, ZXR 750 L1, ZXR 750 L3, '99 ZX7R P4, KTM 300 EXC, ZX-9R E1, TDM850 |
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| Rob |
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 Rob World Chat Champion

Joined: 16 Mar 2002 Karma :  
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 Posted: 23:59 - 10 May 2008 Post subject: |
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I used to have one and it blew it's head gasket.... TWICE!
Expensive! ____________________ Love is 1050cc  |
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| McGee |
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 McGee O RLY?

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| Robby |
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 Robby Dirty Old Man

Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :   
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| iCraig |
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 iCraig World Chat Champion
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Karma :     
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| Faldo |
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 Faldo World Chat Champion

Joined: 05 Aug 2007 Karma :  
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 Posted: 12:19 - 11 May 2008 Post subject: |
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| Craig- wrote: | And there reputations are built on cars of old! |
As are Japanese reputations. As I own a car parts company I tend to know the common faults on most cars, and how expensive they are to rectify.
The biggest problem with modern German cars is anything made by Bosch. Bosch have an excellent reputation, but why I don't know. Virtually all ABS systems and ECUs on German cars are made by Bosch, and all fail regularly, as do xenon headlamp ballasts, and modern Bosch diesel injections systems are utter toss. On Japanese cars, they tend to use Denso/Hitatchi/Mitsubishi systems which are much more reliable. I'd agree that the current range of BMWs and Mercedes have been guilty of cost cutting and it does show, especially in the 1 Series. I have always driven Beemers, and TBH I'm looking at getting a 645 cabby ATM, but I have to say that the build quality on modern Audis far surpasses their German rivals.
Japanese cars have a taken a bit of a tumble in reliablity too however. Take for example, Nissan. 10 years ago Nissans were absolutley bullet proof. Since Renault now runs the show, a lot of typical Renault reliability traits are now inbuilt into Nissans. Nissan Navara engines for example are lucky to see 50k, and when they go bang it will usually cost about £2.5k just to buy a used engine!
Mazda too seem to be falling behind. Their Mazda 6 2.0D engine is terrible for reliabilty, as is their 2.3 MPS engine. Dual mass flywheels are toss on Mazda diesels too, but the same can by said for any VW/Audi group vehicles, but funnily enough not BMW/Mercedes, even though they all use the same manufacturer (I.e LuK or Sachs)
Toyota and Honda are both flying away in terms of reliability from their Japanese rivals. The only engine between the two manufacturers that doesn't have the best reliability reputation is the Type R/S2000 engines, but to be fair, the people who drive them usually rag the bollocks out of them, and when you're getting almost 200bhp from a 2.0 normally aspirated engine that revs to 9k, the engines do have a hard life. Toyota and Honda diesel engines are excellent.
But I would say that Toyota/Honda are equal in terms of reliabilty with Audi/BMW/Merc etc. Another issue is availability and price of parts. There simply isn't the aftermarket parts backup for the Japanese car park. This is changing, but a lot of Japanese parts are dealer only, and cost a fortune. German cars tend to have a much better aftermarket backup, meaning that even if OE parts are dear, there is good quality (Sometimes better quality than OE) aftermarket spares available cheaply. ____________________ Current: ZZR1400
Previous: ZXR 400 L9, ZX-7R P5, ZZR 400, ZX-7R P6, Bandit 600, GSXR 750 Slingshot, DRZ400, DR650, ZX10R C1H, ZXR 750 L1, ZXR 750 L3, '99 ZX7R P4, KTM 300 EXC, ZX-9R E1, TDM850 |
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| iCraig |
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 iCraig World Chat Champion
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Karma :     
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 Posted: 13:05 - 11 May 2008 Post subject: |
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| yellowninja wrote: |
As are Japanese reputations. As I own a car parts company I tend to know the common faults on most cars, and how expensive they are to rectify.
Japanese cars have a taken a bit of a tumble in reliablity too however. Take for example, Nissan. 10 years ago Nissans were absolutley bullet proof. Since Renault now runs the show, a lot of typical Renault reliability traits are now inbuilt into Nissans. Nissan Navara engines for example are lucky to see 50k, and when they go bang it will usually cost about £2.5k just to buy a used engine!
Mazda too seem to be falling behind. Their Mazda 6 2.0D engine is terrible for reliabilty, as is their 2.3 MPS engine. Dual mass flywheels are toss on Mazda diesels too, but the same can by said for any VW/Audi group vehicles, but funnily enough not BMW/Mercedes, even though they all use the same manufacturer (I.e LuK or Sachs)
Toyota and Honda are both flying away in terms of reliability from their Japanese rivals. The only engine between the two manufacturers that doesn't have the best reliability reputation is the Type R/S2000 engines, but to be fair, the people who drive them usually rag the bollocks out of them, and when you're getting almost 200bhp from a 2.0 normally aspirated engine that revs to 9k, the engines do have a hard life. Toyota and Honda diesel engines are excellent.
But I would say that Toyota/Honda are equal in terms of reliabilty with Audi/BMW/Merc etc. Another issue is availability and price of parts. There simply isn't the aftermarket parts backup for the Japanese car park. This is changing, but a lot of Japanese parts are dealer only, and cost a fortune. German cars tend to have a much better aftermarket backup, meaning that even if OE parts are dear, there is good quality (Sometimes better quality than OE) aftermarket spares available cheaply. |
I have to disagree with your point on the Japanese reputation is built on cars of old, as mostly all current Japanese only cars are very reliable. Its only when Japanese manufacturers start using other car companies components.
You mention the Mazda 6 2.0D, which has a Ford diesel engine.
Also you mention Nissan, which are now partly Renaults as you mention too.
The only true fully Japanese* cars now are Honda, Toyota and Daihatsu. And they all have enviable reliability records.
*Japanese designed
And yeah I have to agree on the parts front too, which is why I like owning a VAG car, as parts are so easy to get and the aftermarket stuff is cheap too. But its cheap for a reason too, cos so many parts are needed. Which is probably why Japanese parts are so expensive as they don't go as much as they do on German cars.
But I feel alot of VAG parts even OEM parts are built down to a price, take the windscreen wipers on a Mk1 Octavia/Mk4 Golf/B5 Audi A4, they only have 1 motor and a linkage to connect the motor to both wipers. Which seizes due to where it is put on the car, and the poor scuttle panel design. (Which has just happened to my car, but repaired by myself).
Another example is the problem with waterpumps on VAG cars, as the impellers are made out of plastic and break very easily.
At the moment I am looking for a new car too, and am leaning towards Japanese cars for improved reliability, but the ease of getting parts for VAG cars is swaying me back. |
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| Faldo |
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 Faldo World Chat Champion

Joined: 05 Aug 2007 Karma :  
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 Posted: 23:14 - 11 May 2008 Post subject: |
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Well, I have to think that the previous two posts have proven my point. The Japanese reliability reputation is built on true Japanese manufacturers such as Hondas/Toyotas, which are bullet proof. There's absolutley no denying that.
But of course, McGees original post was on the subject of a 20 year old Porsche, not modern VAG cars or modern Japanese cars. They are a totally different kettle of fish. TBH, I would advise against a 20 year old German car, as it really is a guess as to whether the previous owners were tight mofo's, or whether they genuinely cared for the vehicle. Whereas, on a 20 year old Toyota it really don't matter whether it was cared for or not, it's still gonna be a safe bet. My previous post was only relavent to modern cars.
As Craig- said, it's only genuine Japanese manufacturers such as Honda/Toyota that are really reliable. As for Diahatsu, their share of the UK car park is so small it's pretty much redundant. I mean, who the fuck would buy a Cuore over say a Fiesta? The Fourtrak and Sportrak did their job well in their day though.
In response to the OP, I probably would buy Japanese, if i was buying a car of that vintage. But I still maintain that if I was buying a modern car it would be VAG, or most likely BMW. (However if I could get insured on a Cayman I'd buy one tomorrow, even though they are the same ins group as my Beamer, the best quote I've had on even the lowly 2.7 Cayman is 3500 quid.!!!)
I'm certainly not saying that modern Jap cars are unreliable, because they just aren't. I'd just rather buy a modern German car because they are on a par with Jap reliability in most cases, but they just feel better made. My best mate drives modern Audis (His old man works pretty high up in Bentley so he gets a new one every six months and for next to nothing!!!), so we have a lot of banter between us about which brand is the best. The outcome is, I say modern Audis are better made than BMWs, but he keeps pestering me to lend him the 330 cab when I go on holiday in a few weeks. Which I will, and I'm sure when he gives it me back he'll say it was wank, but I know for a fact he'll think it was far more sporty than his brand new Audi A4 Quattro! ____________________ Current: ZZR1400
Previous: ZXR 400 L9, ZX-7R P5, ZZR 400, ZX-7R P6, Bandit 600, GSXR 750 Slingshot, DRZ400, DR650, ZX10R C1H, ZXR 750 L1, ZXR 750 L3, '99 ZX7R P4, KTM 300 EXC, ZX-9R E1, TDM850
Last edited by Faldo on 23:22 - 11 May 2008; edited 1 time in total |
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| Faldo |
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 Faldo World Chat Champion

Joined: 05 Aug 2007 Karma :  
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 Posted: 23:20 - 11 May 2008 Post subject: |
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By the way, if you want a reliable wiper motor for an Octavia/Mk 4 Golf I do brand spanking new ones for £25. And they aren't made in China neither, made by Mahle!  ____________________ Current: ZZR1400
Previous: ZXR 400 L9, ZX-7R P5, ZZR 400, ZX-7R P6, Bandit 600, GSXR 750 Slingshot, DRZ400, DR650, ZX10R C1H, ZXR 750 L1, ZXR 750 L3, '99 ZX7R P4, KTM 300 EXC, ZX-9R E1, TDM850 |
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| iCraig |
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 iCraig World Chat Champion
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| McGee |
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 McGee O RLY?

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| Kickstart |
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 Kickstart The Oracle

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 AJI World Chat Champion
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| JuanDan1st |
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 JuanDan1st Derestricted Danger
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 kawashima World Chat Champion

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| McGee |
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 McGee O RLY?

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 Misc World Chat Champion
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 McGee O RLY?

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| Madmanx |
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 D O G World Chat Champion

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| killa |
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 killa Won't Shut Up

Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Karma :  
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 Posted: 10:28 - 15 May 2008 Post subject: |
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I'm sure if you do some searching around sourcing parts for the 944 would be piss easy. Loads of people love that car and willing to help you out, a bit like the 400cc range of motorbikes.
The RX7 will drink that 944 under the table, but i don't know what its like to fill up a tank over in the USA.
The RX7 is superiour to that Porsche but i'd much rather have that old skool flavour German thing.
If you want something that good for a blast and maybe do a track day, what about the 200SX? ____________________ Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Bike:- Yamaha TRX850 | Killas Biking History | Killas Gaming History | Killas autmotive history |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 18 years, 133 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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