Finger rule on car longevity

[MickZA]

My brother hired a Corolla from Avis when he flew down to visit a couple of years ago. Drove from the airport to our place and when he tried to start it a couple of hours later it had developed the dreaded "eg2505" problem - engine cranked but it wouldn't start. We suspected something simple that hadn't been explained when he collected the car, immobilizer or the like, but it was quicker just to phone Avis.

The Avis guys arrived in two cars, one a replacement to get my boet on his way and the other "just in case". Turned out to be a "just in case" situation, they eventually left together in the second car and a flat bed recovery truck took the faulty Corolla away the next day. IIRC it had less than 5,000kms on the clock.

 

[Lupus]

General services maintenance? Broken/failed components maintenance? Dealer or independent service place?

General broken/failed components mine had issues with the steering rack, the air con kept going, something as simple as a thermostat can cost upwards of R1400 as it's all wrapped in a thick plastic housing.
Sump gasket you're looking at the part being a couple of hundred but labour pushing it to the thousands due to the stupid placement under the transmission.
Back windscreen wiper is expensive because it's dealer only as well the only thing that wasn't to bad was the servicing.
Ninety percent of the things were done independent workshop. Oh also it's a perceived quality thing, expect little things to break in the cabin that can cost a fortune, my one window switch failed and my electric mirror roughly in the same week strangely just before I sold her.
Saying all that I did like driving the polo

 

[Vis1/0N]

...too expensive to maintain

My argument is as long as nothing major happens, you can drive for as long as want, or until you find something better

The too expensive to maintain could be a valid point but it is a generalisation that needs to be supported by the maths. Most times people who push this argument are using it as a crappy reason for their own extravagances. On a 5 to 8 year old car it should either be down to plain bad luck or poor choice (Alfa, Renault etc are bigger perishables) that it would be more cost effective to replace.

There are some rare sweet spots (expensive maintenance plans vs sell the current and pay the difference on a newer replacement does work out sweetly sometimes) but this still comes down to the initial choice of vehicle or bad luck.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

My brother hired a Corolla from Avis when he flew down to visit a couple of years ago. Drove from the airport to our place and when he tried to start it a couple of hours later it had developed the dreaded "eg2505" problem - engine cranked but it wouldn't start. We suspected something simple that hadn't been explained when he collected the car, immobilizer or the like, but it was quicker just to phone Avis.

The Avis guys arrived in two cars, one a replacement to get my boet on his way and the other "just in case". Turned out to be a "just in case" situation, they eventually left together in the second car and a flat bed recovery truck took the faulty Corolla away the next day. IIRC it had less than 5,000kms on the clock.

Rotfl on eg2505 problem

Seems i have simply bad luck with cars,
I also had a 99 accent that was great becuse there was no ecu on it, unfortunatly wrote it off in a accident.

As for my picanto, can't understand why now?
Its only just got to 100000km i was at least expecting it to get to 160000 or at least another year,
I've seen many older picantos that much more Electrics continue on unabated,
Mine doesn't even have power steering, and its kicked the bucket.....

But now all the smart people say; see told you to sell as soon as it gets to 5 years and make it somebody else problem.....

So not sure what to belive anymore, is it only Korean cars that like this, that after 5 years they paperweights

 

[PostmanPot]

Lol regarding comma and full stop, autocorrect sometimes does that.

Interesting, you double tap spacebar and it gives you a comma, or what? In business correspondence too?

As for the car myth, I'm not so sure regarding that, i mean you get cars that go forever with no issues,
And then you get cars that fall apart as soon as the warrenty expires.

So it all depends then,
As for a Polo, thought about it but my experience been less than great,

Dad Had a Polo vivo hatch 2014 model that spent more time in the garage with on the road, mainly power steering issues and mainly issues related to sensors not working right.

Then it was a lemon, happens with all brands, and as mentioned by others shows how dodgy new cars can be. Second hand can be checked and made sure that teething issues have been resolved, i.e. that one isn't buying a lemon. New cars have no record.

 

[SauRoNZA]

You just had bad luck or Kia sucks.

Had a brand new Ford Fiesta Flair company car that started falling apart at 7000km and had endless non-mechanical issues. Leaking, door panels coming off, radio stopped working, window fell in etc.

Had a '95 Mercedes C-Class I took over from my old man in 2000-ish as I recall and it started having weird issues like wipers coming on with indicators etc. Sold it expecting it would start costing real money, wish I never did as it was a fantastic car.

Bought a 2000 Opel Corsa at 50000km and drove it until 158000odd which I sold last year. Not because something was wrong with it but because it was starting to rust from standing outside in disuse.

Wife had a Fiat Palio 2001. Piece of ****. Popped gasket, had to redo clutch. Body panels coming off and paint looking revolting. Never really felt very solid.

Now I had a 2008 Golf GTI. Bought at 98000km now at 156000km almost 7 years old and have zero intention to sell it. Not a day's worth of unexpected issues or anything that cost major money. Standard stuff like brakes and front shocks have been the only big tickets and the PCV was a bit random but cheap.

Let me ask you this. Did that Kia feel in any way dodgy when you bought it? Was the deal too good to be true? Did you look after it well? It sounds almost like you only serviced it when you felt like it.

 

[Dan C]

Drive the car nicely, and maintain it properly and it will last, i own a 99 Hyundai Accent, i drive minimum 200km a day, its currently got 446000km on it, and it doesn't cost me much to maintain.

Bliksem, give that car a Bells

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

You just had bad luck or Kia sucks.

Had a brand new Ford Fiesta Flair company car that started falling apart at 7000km and had endless non-mechanical issues. Leaking, door panels coming off, radio stopped working, window fell in etc.

Had a '95 Mercedes C-Class I took over from my old man in 2000-ish as I recall and it started having weird issues like wipers coming on with indicators etc. Sold it expecting it would start costing real money, wish I never did as it was a fantastic car.

Bought a 2000 Opel Corsa at 50000km and drove it until 158000odd which I sold last year. Not because something was wrong with it but because it was starting to rust from standing outside in disuse.

Wife had a Fiat Palio 2001. Piece of ****. Popped gasket, had to redo clutch. Body panels coming off and paint looking revolting. Never really felt very solid.

Now I had a 2008 Golf GTI. Bought at 98000km now at 156000km almost 7 years old and have zero intention to sell it. Not a day's worth of unexpected issues or anything that cost major money. Standard stuff like brakes and front shocks have been the only big tickets and the PCV was a bit random but cheap.

Let me ask you this. Did that Kia feel in any way dodgy when you bought it? Was the deal too good to be true? Did you look after it well? It sounds almost like you only serviced it when you felt like it.

Well My kia was a repo from auction,
So i really don't have a lot to go on,
Was as simple as they came, wasn't badly put together and did what i needed it to do.

Came in boksburg spec, so quite used and abused, hell didn't even run after we brought it, but did look after it as much as possible

Gradually been fixing it up slowly so first was the cone filter,then exhuast then tires, then suspension
Was gonna do cv joints before ecu popped,

My car gradually beginning to look better though, I'm expecting to fix it up and get most of the cash i spent on it back, and sell it asap

Just didn't expect it to happen so suddenly though,
Am actually wondering now if the dude who had the car before me try to remap the ecu?

Maybe this was one big reason it died on me so suddenly.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Didn't run when you bought it and you wonder why it has problems now?

Most definitely a specific car problem then and a bad deal.

Next time but a known working car from a reputable source and you won't have any of these problems.

 

[smayhew]

My corolla is a 97 model 160 fuel injected and itnever given me a days problem.it stood for eight months, all I did was charge the battery and she fired up first turm of the key

 

[spiderz]

Buy a old Land Rover ...

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Buy a old Land Rover ...

or a nissan 1400; if I could fit in one

 

[boxerulez]

I drive a 1985 BMW 318i with 330 000km on the clock.

Parts are cheap, it has an ECU that has been flooded with water (and I did the rice trick to fix it) other than that just normal maintenance, it is my daily driver and I do about 2000km open road every 6 months.

Just leaving that here...

Edit.

PS. It has a second fuel tank behind the backrest of the backseat. It gobbles up 75litres every 800km.
Still cheaper than new car payments and insurance premiums.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

I drive a 1985 BMW 318i with 330 000km on the clock.

Parts are cheap, it has an ECU that has been flooded with water (and I did the rice trick to fix it) other than that just normal maintenance, it is my daily driver and I do about 2000km open road every 6 months.

Just leaving that here...

Edit.

PS. It has a second fuel tank behind the backrest of the backseat. It gobbles up 75litres every 800km.
Still cheaper than new car payments and insurance premiums.

now Ill ask you this;
do the parts cost a lot? and is the car a thieves magnet?

also how much did you pay for this car initially?

 

[boxerulez]

now Ill ask you this;
do the parts cost a lot? and is the car a thieves magnet?

also how much did you pay for this car initially?

OK Parts that I have replaced preventatively.

Fan Clutch - R450
Clutch Kit - R1450
Fuel Pressure Regulator - R750
Tyres - R685 ea (Kuhmo)
Silencer Box - R850
Cooling System Hoses - R750 for the set


Service Kit

5l HX5 Shell - R200
Oil Filter -R55
Air Filter - R120
Petrol Filter - R185

The car was a gift but you pick them up between R25-80 000.00 Depending the model/age.

Mine is a 2door sport trim chrome bumper with no auxiliry drives.

No AC no PS no Elec windows.


I have had no break ins or badges stolen etc.

Insurance R350 pm.

What I would like to add is that YES OLD cars will drive for years and years. Parts are plenty and at good prices for some reason.

Anything from 2000 onwards basically has an expiration date. Cars were built and assembled with less care and less longevity.

Panels on newer cars are left unpainted on the inside under fenders, etc with just primer on.

On old cars rubber gromets were used to seal gaps in firewalles, where wires run, etc.

On the newer vehicles a lot of expanding foam is used in these spots.

Basically disposable cars after 2000 imo.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Anything from 2000 onwards basically has an expiration date. Cars were built and assembled with less care and less longevity.

I think you should qualify this with "for the same money" older cars are better put together than similarly priced newer cars.

Cost wise your car compares to a modern day Corsa.

Specification wise it compares with a new bottom of the range BMW 3-series, which obviously costs more money but is obviously put together a hell of a lot better than a Corsa.

Your logic is sound though, same reason I bought a second hand GTI for the same money as a brand new Polo.

 

[Archer]

Anything from 2000 onwards basically has an expiration date. Cars were built and assembled with less care and less longevity.

I laugh everytime I read stuff like this. Tell me more about how precision robots are assembling cars worse than fallible humans
I'm not saying that cars on the low end can be pieces of junk, but in general cars are designed to last way longer than you would ever believe.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

I laugh everytime I read stuff like this. Tell me more about how precision robots are assembling cars worse than fallible humans
I'm not saying that cars on the low end can be pieces of junk, but in general cars are designed to last way longer than you would ever believe.

if thats true then why does the car fall apart after the warranty expire?

I suppose its designed that way, like the way they use plastic to hold essential parts of the radiator/ other important bits on;
instead of metal that last longer; this guy explains it quite well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5MhzNjYiSo

and the fact that cars with ECU could easily be programmed to fail after say 20000 run cycles;

otherwise they'd not make money anymore; very few cars these days are really built to last;

 

[Archer]

if thats true then why does the car fall apart after the warranty expire?

I suppose its designed that way, like the way they use plastic to hold essential parts of the radiator/ other important bits on;
instead of metal that last longer; this guy explains it quite well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5MhzNjYiSo

and the fact that cars with ECU could easily be programmed to fail after say 20000 run cycles;

otherwise they'd not make money anymore; very few cars these days are really built to last;

wahahahahahahaha
I've got some tinfoil hats you may be interested in - you're firmly in conspiracy territory
But what do I know, I only design vehicles for a living. Better to listen to some random youtube rant

Just think for half a second - if old cars were built to last, then according to you the manufacturers wouldn't have been making money back then... except they clearly did as they as still around today.

And fall apart after warranty is out? Fearmongering at it's finest. But like I said, I'm very happy for people like you to sell your cars just before warranty expires - means I can get cheap cars

 

[Sinbad]

PS. It has a second fuel tank behind the backrest of the backseat. It gobbles up 75litres every 800km..

how was this gem missed????


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