European Cars

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637 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#731042 12-Dec-2012 07:15

martyyn: I have to wonder what you are all doing with your Euro cars if they are all such dogs.

I'm now onto my 9th BMW (I get bored easily - but tis been over 20 years) and I bet my current, 22 year old BMW costs less to service and maintain than any Jap car. I can do it all myself in a couple of hours and use quality OEM parts rather than going to a dealer.

Me too. I have BMWs and Audis and have generally found them reasonably easy to maintain with extremely well documented field maintenance guides, and very accessible OEM parts even for older models at reasonable prices (BMW branded dealerships will be more expensive, but there are a number of alternative online distributors).

Compared to what my sister has spent on her Mitsubishi and my mother on her Daihatsu, I can't say the Euros are costing any more. The main problem is finding a trustworthy mechanic that understands the cars, in particular BMW M-series or Audi S/RS-series.

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Shindig

1368 posts

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#731066 12-Dec-2012 08:14

Guys, thank you veru much for the replies. It does seem a bit hit and miss with cars in general!!!

I will take alook at that Lancer reoprt as that ticks alot of the boxes I was after.

Why do people not buy brand new cars??

The little things make the biggest difference.

TheUngeek

924 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#731070 12-Dec-2012 08:17

From my experience in the industry I certainly would never buy a euro as a serious daily driver.
Parts and service are dearer and not as readily available.
Also nz owners do not look after cars. A good Toyota can handle that better than oat euros!

lxsw20

3198 posts

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#731075 12-Dec-2012 08:26

Shindig: Guys, thank you veru much for the replies. It does seem a bit hit and miss with cars in general!!!

I will take alook at that Lancer reoprt as that ticks alot of the boxes I was after.

Why do people not buy brand new cars??

Because you lose a silly amount of money the second you drive it off the yard, cars are not a good investment.

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Mad Scientist
29056 posts

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#731117 12-Dec-2012 09:14

lxsw20:
Shindig: Guys, thank you veru much for the replies. It does seem a bit hit and miss with cars in general!!!

I will take alook at that Lancer reoprt as that ticks alot of the boxes I was after.

Why do people not buy brand new cars??

Because you lose a silly amount of money the second you drive it off the yard, cars are not a good investment.

great if you will keep it for the next ten years and want the latest security/other features ...

if you sell it in 3 years you need to have a lot of money to burn

i'd buy a new car if i knew i'd hold on to it for a decade ... the soon to arrive new mazda six diesel looks good

TheUngeek

924 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#731172 12-Dec-2012 10:05

If you look at a mitsi, don't even think about anything pre 05. I'd rather have a french car

lxsw20

3198 posts

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#731173 12-Dec-2012 10:05

I brought my Mazda 3 MPS a few months ago, its just over 3 years old has 40k on the clock and has just run out of warranty, it's still the latest shape. To buy that new would have cost me another 23k.....no thanks.

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

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Vocus

#731185 12-Dec-2012 10:15

TheUngeek: If you look at a mitsi, don't even think about anything pre 05. I'd rather have a french car

QFT. Serious mechanical problems across the whole range.

If you're looking late 90's then your best bets are Toyota, Mazda, Nissan (in that order) and get a common model so there are 2nd hand parts around. I'd even keep away from Hondas of that vintage unless you find a mint one.

Technofreak

6111 posts

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#731221 12-Dec-2012 10:52

TheUngeek: If you look at a mitsi, don't even think about anything pre 05. I'd rather have a french car

I know it's only the engine and the rest of the car may be very good, BUT, take a look at the next car that emits a bluish smoke as it accelerates away from the lights or intersection, one will get you ten that it's a Mitsi.

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lxsw20

3198 posts

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#731226 12-Dec-2012 10:59

TheUngeek: If you look at a mitsi, don't even think about anything pre 05. I'd rather have a french car

I can see you owning a 2CV actually.

martyyn

1846 posts

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#731246 12-Dec-2012 11:27

It is manufacturing related. Own a Fiat, or a Peugeot and you will know what I mean.

This is exactly my point. I had a Peugeot 406 SRi in the UK and it was one of the best cars I've ever driven. You simply cant make generalisations on makes and models after having driven/owned one or two cars (and I appreaciate you appear to have owned more than one - thats just a general comment about other posts). However, you cant compare Italian built Fiat's to German built BMW's surely !

There are of course exceptions to that rule, Alfa's from the 80's I wouldn't touch but if I really wanted one Id go into it knowing the risks and would only buy a good one.

Search the web for BMW 750iL and you will find a well known page which lists all the problems one bloke had with his. Yes its shocking but I was part of a forum in the UK where there were over a dozen of us with 750's which performed faultlessly. So given those statistics, if you wanted a 750iL do you steer clear based on one story or do you do your research and buy a well looked after one ?

Ive seen Mitsi's and Honda's rusted to dust after only five years, does that mean you should ignore all Mitsi's and Honda's ? Of course not, it was the 90's !

jonherries: I have a few principles for how I buy cars:

Never new
NZ new over import
Try to get the second or third release year of a model rather than first as lots of bugs get squashed in refreshes
Check out known issues for that specific year/model.

This is golden advice.

jonherries: Related question, where do you buy your oil and filters (if you do this yourself)

Parts:
Gavin at Euro Italian (09 444 9817) Astonishingly good service and excellent prices.

BMW mechanic:
Auckland - Glenn at Botany Motor Works (09 2722546). Awesome, no nonsense advice.
Wellington - Vijay at Page European (04 382 8218)

One final thing on the Dog and Lemon guide. I wouldnt use it to wipe my backside when it comes to its thoughts on BMW's (older ones in particular). I can say after 20 years of experience it has absolutely no clue what its talking about at all.

jim.cox

220 posts

Master Geek

#731253 12-Dec-2012 11:38

martyyn:

One final thing on the Dog and Lemon guide. I wouldnt use it to wipe my backside when it comes to its thoughts on BMW's (older ones in particular). I can say after 20 years of experience it has absolutely no clue what its talking about at all.

Ditto - its comments on older Volvos do not match my experience at all

=mjc=
.

dickytim

2514 posts

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#731314 12-Dec-2012 12:38

Technofreak:
TheUngeek: If you look at a mitsi, don't even think about anything pre 05. I'd rather have a french car

I know it's only the engine and the rest of the car may be very good, BUT, take a look at the next car that emits a bluish smoke as it accelerates away from the lights or intersection, one will get you ten that it's a Mitsi.

pretty much 10/10 of those will be poorly looked after GDI's !

BTW bluish smoke is usually over fueling rather than burnt oil, the white smoke it the real tell tail

old3eyes

8996 posts

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#731315 12-Dec-2012 12:41

joker97:
lxsw20:
Shindig: Guys, thank you veru much for the replies. It does seem a bit hit and miss with cars in general!!!

I will take alook at that Lancer reoprt as that ticks alot of the boxes I was after.

Why do people not buy brand new cars??

Because you lose a silly amount of money the second you drive it off the yard, cars are not a good investment.

great if you will keep it for the next ten years and want the latest security/other features ...

if you sell it in 3 years you need to have a lot of money to burn

i'd buy a new car if i knew i'd hold on to it for a decade ... the soon to arrive new mazda six diesel looks good

If it wasn't for the fact that diesel RUC and registration in this country is a big rip off. I will never buy the diesel vehicle again.. Just wait until they hit the hybrid / electric market for a six with new taxes..

Regards,

Old3eyes

TheUngeek

924 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#731355 12-Dec-2012 13:13

Blue smoke is oil being burnt in the combustion chamber.
White is oil after the combustion chamber (eg turbo)
Black is over fuelling

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