Slate your ride !

RobAMerc

Ok - one big issue I have with boards is the fact so many people give the car they drive as an option to pretty much every "what car should I buy" thread, and will vehemently defend it if anyone says anything bad about it, so the opinions are never objective.

Inspired by a fairly honest opinion I got from another boardsie about his motor, I reckon what would be a good thread is where people point out the bad points about their wheels!
Not whats broken on yours in particular - just whats not good by design.

I will start.
I have a 320ci Convertible - 03 46k on clock.

The brakes totally lack feel - (particularly when cold)
The steering, while weighty also is a bit numb, and doesn't really communicate whats going on at the front
It drinks the juice alarmingly in traffic or if you push it( and considering the only ok performance ain't great on long runs either)
The roof is a bit slow
The back seats are useless for anything other than a child really
The standard stereo is fairly poor tbh
The headlights are like two birthday candles in a glass jar (ok not that bad but i have seen better)
Lastly the standard a/c is almost impossible to get to the right temp

Thats it - and to be honest I am being very unfair in some of those, but I am generally fairly critical, so I think its objective.

Lets have it so

JohnCleary

320d - 2002 - 85k

Needed to change the shocks at 80k - Thought for a BMW they would have lasted longer :rolleyes:
I'm also going to change the wishbone bushes because I was told these go around the 80-100k mark too. Total cost for wishbones AND bushes from eBay (Febi - same as OEM) was £100 Sterling - not bad value

Other than that, can't complain tbh. I suppose I would prefer if it had 100000BHP at the wheels, but shes a 2litre diesel so meh

-EDIT- No fcuking cup holders

JoeA3

MKV Golf GTI... very little of significance to gripe about, but these would be the ones that stick out:

- Very very stiff ride on some of our rougher roads (but I guess I knew that before I got it)
- Poor quality plastics on centre console spoiling an otherwise good quality dash
- iPod connection limited in functionality (acts like a CD-changer)
- open the window after its rained... and water pours in on top of you from the roof!
- so-called "easy-entry" seats seem to prove quite the opposite to anyone trying to get in the back

mike65

1996 Audi A6 1.8 auto

No fupping cup holder!
No heated mirrors (a small but important thing)
Expensive rear brake calipers
Integrated C pillar ariel/amp, fine until it goes wrong.
Auto Climate control best works in manual mode.

Oh yeah, the stupid security wheel bolts. I got rid of them.

Mike.

Stephen

Honda Civic ES 1.8 i-VTEC, '07. A mere 7000km on the clock so far.

Nothing gone wrong with it yet fortunately, but some thoughts:

Getting one recurring interior rattle that is driving me crazy
Lacks torque until you reach very high revs (i-VTEC = economy vtec)
Apparently the frong fogs are highly susceptible to being shattered by stones due to their design. I haven't experienced this yet myself though.
The Honda OEM iPod kit is rubbish. Didn't bother getting it in my car.
No spare wheel supplied as standard - only a 12V compressor and a bottle of gunk!

'06 models (i.e. the first ones of this model) had a number of well known teething problems such as dodgy fuel filler caps and rear shocks but these all seem to have been ironed out for 07 and 08 models.

Other than that though I'm very pleased with it. Its seriously spacious for a car of its size (comfortably seats 4 large adults without rear occupants getting their knees broken!), has lots of toys and its good fun to drive.

JoeA3

mike65 wrote: »

No heated mirrors (a small but important thing)

Mike.

Agreed! I had same issue on my old A3. Used to drive me daft on the winter mornings, the mirrors would still be foggy by the time I'd parked up at work.

RobAMerc

mike65 wrote: »

1996 Audi A6 1.8 auto

No heated mirrors (a small but important thing)

Mike.

JoeA3 wrote: »

Agreed! I had same issue on my old A3. Used to drive me daft on the winter mornings, the mirrors would still be foggy by the time I'd parked up at work.

+1 - should be made compulsory in this country -
0 mirrors + 10 mile commute = trouble

Vegeta

1997 Toyota Corolla 1.3 xli with 167K on the clock

It is the slowest car I have ever been in, ever!!! Honestly it is painful

I am sitting here trying to think of things that annoy me about it but the car is so cheap and tacky that you just accept these things. It has sexy white dials though

if I had spent 20k and up on the car though that would be a different matter and I'd have a list as long as me leg I'd say

Owen

2005 MINI Cooper S Works. It's an alcoholic, or it has a hole in the fuel tank, or both. The boot is tiny, and as the rear seats are leather, I'm loathe to put anything on them. The default heated mirrors were convex, and created huge magnified blind spots, so I had to replace them with the optional plane versions (Yes I spelled plane correctly, I mean flat).

It has 5 Cup holders. For what? Who knows ...

Vegeta

Stephen wrote: »

Honda Civic ES 1.8 i-VTEC, '07. A mere 7000km on the clock so far.

Nothing gone wrong with it yet fortunately, but some thoughts:

Getting one recurring interior rattle that is driving me crazy
Lacks torque until you reach very high revs (i-VTEC = economy vtec)
Apparently the frong fogs are highly susceptible to being shattered by stones due to their design. I haven't experienced this yet myself though.
The Honda OEM iPod kit is rubbish. Didn't bother getting it in my car.
No spare wheel supplied as standard - only a 12V compressor and a bottle of gunk!

'06 models (i.e. the first ones of this model) had a number of well known teething problems such as dodgy fuel filler caps and rear shocks but these all seem to have been ironed out for 07 and 08 models.

Other than that though I'm very pleased with it. Its seriously spacious for a car of its size (comfortably seats 4 large adults without rear occupants getting their knees broken!), has lots of toys and its good fun to drive.

My friend has one of these cars and the gear knob shape drives me mental.

High&Low

03 BMW 325Ci - 60k on clock

Clutch takes a lot of getting used to.
My wife finds it difficult to put car into reverse sometimes.
Parking sensors way too sensitive.
Dreadful petrol consumption when driving in traffic
Aircon is not great - very hard to get temprature just right.

Tabnabs

05 Volvo s40.

Bout €25 a week on petrol for around 130 kms+ :rolleyes:

Computer has a mind of it's own and will occasionally throw up random errors on starting up (adds to the quirky feel and not serious, so far...).

Boot is big but opening is small.

Tall driver means no leg room behind me.

Above all else;
Car puts a smile on my face every time I see it.

Edit: Two really useful cup holders.

siralfalot

2003 Alfa 156 2.4 JTD

no fecking cup holders either! :mad:
aircon isn't cold enough in the summer
it eats a set of front ARB droplinks per year, but they are only €20 each
all front bushings had to be replaced at 100k miles, they were replaced with powerflex items which should not have to be touched for a long time.
I also fitted a new clutch at 100k miles
tyre wear on the front can be excessive 10k - 15k miles for a front set, rears last forever

richie_rvf

Good idea for a thread!

The temptation to reply to each statement is very high....

....but I will resist

My car - 2001 E39 M5

best car I have ever owned but I do have the following gripes

there is no spare wheel, what you get is a compressor with a tank of sealant - thankfully I have never had a puncture (touch wood!!).

The cup holders are not great, they hold the cup/can too low down so no spirited cornering, also, if you put a hot take out coffee into a holder then the A/C blows extra cold, the intake for monitoring the inside temp is just behind the cup so the A/C thinks the car is roasting and tries to compensate.

I could go on about fuel consumption, tyre usage etc but then if I were to be concerned about those things then I obviously bought the wrong car

Richie.

JHMEG

1991 Integra XSi

Complaints:
- no cup holder

C_Breeze

MX-3 V6

Complaints: Not enough cubby holes (however it does have a cup holder )



My previous Civic 1.8 VTiS

Complaints: Missing 2 cylinders


My previous 323 V6 - Electrical aerial always gets stuck

RobAMerc

I know its tempting but its probably best if we try avoid the "Whats gone wrong with it" type posts as it could get huge.

C_Breeze

In that case...

Mazda 323 V6 - Nothing !

Stephen

Vegeta wrote: »

My friend has one of these cars and the gear knob shape drives me mental.

I want to get one of the CTR gear knobs. Its like a little brushed aluminium ball. The standard one is big and plasticky, but still quite comfortable in my hand.

Archeron

JHMEG wrote: »

1991 Integra XSi

Complaints:
- no cup holder

Snap!
1991 Honda Integra, 167,000 km on the clock. Severe lack of suspension causes occasional jaw snapping, and the alloys I had fitted have a habit of letting all the air out when I hit a deep pothole.
Other than that, in the 11 years I've owned it, I had the timing belt snap once, and the liuminous green "Integra" sign in the back window has a black plastic cover on the inside which keeps falling off causing me to be intermittently blinded while driving at night as it sends the light straight into the rear view mirror. A roll of gaffer tape sorted that though.

(no cup holders and the coin holder is broke)

lightening

JoeA3 wrote: »

MKV Golf GTI... very little of significance to gripe about, but these would be the ones that stick out:

- Very very stiff ride on some of our rougher roads (but I guess I knew that before I got it)
- Poor quality plastics on centre console spoiling an otherwise good quality dash
- iPod connection limited in functionality (acts like a CD-changer)
- open the window after its rained... and water pours in on top of you from the roof!
- so-called "easy-entry" seats seem to prove quite the opposite to anyone trying to get in the back

Same car, same complaints, here are a few more:

Tyres don't last p*ssing time
Lack ot traction up the front
Loud annoying dump valve (on mine anyway)

JoeA3

lightening wrote: »

Same car, same complaints, here are a few more:

Tyres don't last p*ssing time
Lack ot traction up the front
Loud annoying dump valve (on mine anyway)

True - its pretty easy to get the ESP light to flicker on a wet day when you put the foot down! Not nearly as scary though as an Astra OPC I drove - that will pull you into the ditch if you don't hold on tight.
Can't say I've noticed excessive wear on my tyres though (11,000kms and they still look almost new).

cantdecide

'98 A6 2.8Q Sport.


CREAKY, cheap feeling seats- not bad, but bad enough to notice (maybe I just need to lose a few stone!). Fuel sender knackered (common problem). EVERYTHING is expensive for this car. Lack of heated mirrors. Poor and notoriously troublesome climate control. Perpetually oozy rear diff (seals already done). Brittle hoses seem to have me chasing a rough idle problem around the engine bay.



Glad I got that off my chest! It's still a very good car overall and definitely the best and most enjoyable car I've had yet but NO car is perfect. A lot of it depends on what you want from a car and everyone's different.

Rovi

2003 Audi RS-6.

The stiff suspension is a bit harsh on anything other than fairly smooth surfaces, and the steering is somewhat vague when straight ahead on level roads.
Servicing and fuel costs are obviously pretty steep, but that's the price of driving this sort of car.
No sound system controls on the steering wheel.
No coin holder.
No spare wheel (bottle of 'stuff' and compressor supplied).

3ps

2003 Passat 130TDI - far too easy to spin the wheels in first
1976 Alfa GT1600 Junior - 1st and 2nd aren't as strong as 3rd 4th 5th

peasant

right ...I'll slate mine (1990 VW Transporter Syncro) just for the entertainment value, shall I ?:D

no cupholder, no coinholder, no cubbyholes
no A/C, no heated mirrors, no electric mirrors
no ABS/ESP/etc, no airbags, no electronics
no power, no speed


but it does have a few useful features that other cars of mine didn't have;
-one touch windscreen wiper, separate heater for the rear passengers, self dimming dips when parked with lights on, not to mention two difflocks and 4WD

other than that ...it just works

Cionád

1998 Nissan Almera 2.0d GX, 143k miles

Cons:
Its very slow (0-100kph in 16 seconds!! :eek: )
Its bland
No cup holders
No aircon
No alloys
No badges (stolen by some prick)
Motor tax

But:
I love it

cyrusdvirus

03 Mondeo Zetec hatchback @ 89k miles

What's gone wrong? cat and coil pack at about @67k

What is wrong?
Cubby holes beside driver not big enough. i had a 99 fiesta zetec and the cubby holes would damn near eat you they were that big.

The mobile phone holder car kit blocks the cup holder. Mondeo's are kinda like a fleet car and at this stage, pretty much everyone has a mobile and should have a car kit, the only place it could fit without blocking airbag deployment, blocks the cup holder.

The power socket beside the ashtray, if you are using a non standard power unit (ie not a cigarette lighter) then it's quite easy to force it down a bit. (but it could just be my car slightly broken)

The electric windows occasionally loose their settings and need to be re-set. Explained in the manual so i guess it's not that uncommon a problem.

They are just niggly little things though. Other than that i love driving the car and haven't any cause to not go for a mondeo next time out

ambro25

Fuel tank comes fitted as standard with a wormhole device.

Fitted with SB³ as standard (Seat Belt Bitchin'Betty )

More seriously, juddering throttle-by-wire (very very rare occurence, but still...)

Oh... it does have cup holders, coin holders, self-demist-everything, did I mention permanent 4WD, xenons, a decent boot, folding wing mirrors, lit vanity mirrors (front x 2), self-dimming ceiling lights, aircon, etc, etc.

So aside from the 3 above, erm, that's it

Pity the new models are so f*cking ugly that I won't even entertain the thought when replacement time comes around

Andrewf20

E36 323i cons:

- Cramped foot well
- I find that making smooth gear changes difficult, from 1st to 2nd. Theres usually a little jolt if not spot on.
- Open diff is not kind to rear tyres. I get about 15k miles out of a pair.
- Some parts expensive. Cat - 1100 euro.
- Car tax at 821 euro.

I love the car to bits though. Not too bad on juice and she handles really well.

MercMad

Mercedes CLK 200K - 2003 W209 model.

No real issues, only small bits !

It does have one cup holder, mainly for the passenger but the driver can reach it if needed, and two in the rear, but if there was another nearer the driver I'd use it more. Then again some previous versions had on near the gear lever and if liquid spilled down it could damge some control unit or other !! Maybe I'm better off without !

They should have had a button for the automatic seat belt feeder in case you didn't catch it first time. Its clever in the way it works automatically, and gets out of the way if you need to access the rear seat, but occasionally if you get into the car and are on the phone or whatever the feeder dissapears before you grab it, and its hard to reach back there for the belt !

The other thing is, and these last two points are combined, is that whilst it does have the facility to close or open all windows at once, you have to use the "recirc" function and hold it down to close, then hold it again to lower. I would prefer a seperate switch !

Just thought of another, the factory total closure/opening system works only if you point the key at the drivers door, and the range is short.

Most aftermarket systems close locks and windows etc from quite a distance but Mercedes feel its a safety issue hence those last two points are just they way its done from the factory, which IMO is safety overkill !