Ibiza vs Megane

Trampas

Hi,

Just looking for a couple of responses but not to start a debate.

Which car is better and by how much

I am driving a 03 Ibiza 5dr 1.4 sports 100bhp (All the extras (Not a boy racer car)

and a bloke in my job mid 40's is driving

Megane classic saloon 01 1.4 (not sure of the fine spec but basic package)

He is trying to say that his car is way better than mine as mine is a Seat and he has a renault.

As far as I know and people might tell me wrong but a Seat has the same parts inside as a VW.

Can someone resolve this debate.

I say they are close enough but not the way he says that he feels his car is superior.

Thanks

prospect

Well its all down to personal opinion.

As for a Seat being a VW, i don't think that'll win your argument because, I personally would prefer Renault to VW aswell.

Not much use to you I know, but every one to themselves!

Tobias Greeshman

Personal preference really, I drive an Ibiza myself and love it, its an all round good car to drive. I used to work in a garage and I can tell you, Renault are NOT a good car, I have seen so much stuff go wrong with them in general, and are constructed in stupid ways (from repairing them POV). Plus Renault have too much electronics in them, on electronic unit goes and it can be very expensive to repair.

Although Renaults are a lovely smooth car to drive, do you want that smoothness when your faced with a huge bill.

Its Ibiza all the way....

Trampas

prospect wrote:

Well its all down to personal opinion.

As for a Seat being a VW, i don't think that'll win your argument because, I personally would prefer Renault to VW aswell.

Not much use to you I know, but every one to themselves!

What is the difference between an Seat Inca van and VW Caddy??

bazz26

Trampas wrote:

What is the difference between an Seat Inca van and VW Caddy??

The price and the badge. Other than that they are the same van.

Tobias Greeshman

Trampas wrote:

What is the difference between an Seat Inca van and VW Caddy??

Very little difference, same chassis, engine... Im willing to bet that the Seat is the cheaper one though. Fairly reliable too

bbability

I've just bought my wife a 02 Seat Ibiza 1.4 5-door. If I had a 02 renault megane and a seat ibiza put on front of me, it would be a simple choice. Seat Ibiza by a mile (or kilometre). Ask any back street mechanic which one they would buy and if he's telling the truth he or she will say Ibiza. And to set the record straight they carry alot of VW/Audi parts. The chasisis are shared between Seat and VW. Seat have improved dramatically over the years since VW got involved with the development.

Renault's are great cars when they are new. Very comfortable and nice to drive. That's about it with a Reanault. Unless its a Diesel I wouldn't touch a 2nd hand Renault.

Seat on the other hand are a great 2nd hand buy. I nearly bought a Vw golf a few weeks ago until I spotted this Seat ibiza on the web. I went to see it and to be honest I didn't have to think about what car I was going to buy. The Seat had everything and more than the VW and cost nearly €4000 less!!
They were both comfortline 1.4 (same engine in both cars) but the Seat had remote locking and a cd player standard in the car.

So go what you need to say to that person who says his car is better. Tell him to ask you again in 3 years and see which car stands the test of time.

prospect

Trampas wrote:

What is the difference between an Seat Inca van and VW Caddy??

Absoloutly no difference. Did I say there was?

Also, you need to remember that alot of people just jump on band wagons. 'Oh Renault, yeah they are crap' etc, but they have no real first hand experience of the cars.

I had a guy tell me how great jap cars are, and Nissan were soooooooo reliable. Then i asked him would he buy a renault van for his business. "Oh, nooo, never, Nissan all the way". Spot the irony! He just assumed that the Nissan van would give him absoloute reliability.

Also, if you work in a fiat garage you are gonna see hundreds of fiats with problems. If you work in a merc garage you are gonna see hundreds of mercs with problems. If you work in a renault garage you are gonna see hundreds of renaults with problems. So i think this is a bull argument.

Anyway, I am on my second renault, and i think they are lovely cars. It is true that parts and servicing are a bit expensive, but nothing major. Needles to say, i have had very very few problems, and the one or two minor ones i did have were sorted quickly and free.

My only personal experience of Seat is two colleagues of mine who had two each (mother and daughter), and they both had endless trouble with their cars. One case ended up in court.

So, talk to enough people and you'll end up thinking every car on the road is crap, because we all have a horror story to tell.
I think you'll just have to settle with the fact that you prefer your Seat and he prefers his Renault.

BrianD3

Grr. First of all the Renault Megane classic is in a different class than an Ibiza and is aimed at a different market. Secondly a 03 Ibiza is a much newer design than a 01 Megane. Therefore it is a bit silly to be comparing the two. Eg if you want to carry 4 passengers and their golf clubs you're going to be pretty fecked if you have the Ibiza instead of the Megane but that doesn't mean that the Ibiza is worse than the Renault, just that it's worse for that particular application.

Also this whole SEAT = reliable and Renault = crap argument is a load of bollox TBH. All European cars are much of a muchness when it comes to reliability and longevity. Most people who praise VW group cars and condemn Renault (and Alfa, FIAT, Citroen, Peugeot) have been taken in by the whole "if only everything is as realible as a volkswagen" hype. And that's what it is - hype.

joolsveer

I have an 03 Megane (bought new) which is not reliable. I have also had unreliable Peugeot, Opel, VW and Fiat cars. On balance newer cars tend to be more reliable no matter what brand you buy. People are always telling me that I should buy a Toyota because they never break down. Is it true?

Tobias Greeshman

Yeah there fairly reliable alright, but parts are very expensive for them. If you want an ultra reliable car buy yourself a Subaru, those things are so reliable its just damn shocking! Expensive though (Legacy is a lovely car, bit expensive and they only do petrol models)

Trampas

The point i mean to was that he was like my megane he thinks is worth about 10K cause he went to place he bought it (Well know renualt dealer in dublin) and offered him 7.5k against a new magane.

He was sick and couldn't believe it

I was said it worth about about 8-9 and he was like what car have you.

To different cars that he car was much better than mine.

Like seat's are rubbish and renualt's are world class.

el tel

Your work colleague is deluded.

He is just trying to overcome his inferiority by making claims
that are nearly impossible to substantiate.

If I had Megane classic saloon 01 1.4 I wouldn't draw any attention to the fact.

bbability

Toyota's are solid as a rock.

Let's be honest all cars are good and reliable once they're properly maintained and serviced. I know someone that has a 97 Fiat Punto with over 100K miles on the clock. People look at her car and scratch their heads saying "that can't be right, a punto going string with that mileage", but it is because the lady in question looks after her car.

As for re-sale value on cars in this country today... don't judge your car on the trade-in value given to you by a salesman in a garage. He's trying to make a sale.

ando

prospect wrote:

As for a Seat being a VW, i don't think that'll win your argument because, I personally would prefer Renault to VW aswell.

I drive a Renault for work and a Seat at the weekends, the Seat IS a Vw/Audi underneath. Seat is better by far imo

dogg_r_69

ando wrote:

I drive a Renault for work and a Seat at the weekends, the Seat IS a Vw/Audi underneath. Seat is better by far imo

I've kinda the same opinion Parents have a Seat I have a Megane To pick between the 2, definately the Seat wins but that's comparing an underpowered 1.4 Megane to a 110 bhp Tdi Toledo Same as the starting arguement, you can't compare 2 completely different cars Saying that since I've had the Megane I can't give it enough praise apart from having a engine that's a bit underpowered Hasn't cost me a thing and got 41mpg average

bazz26

joolsveer wrote:

I have an 03 Megane (bought new) which is not reliable. I have also had unreliable Peugeot, Opel, VW and Fiat cars. On balance newer cars tend to be more reliable no matter what brand you buy. People are always telling me that I should buy a Toyota because they never break down. Is it true?

No car is 100% reliable or bomb proof but Toyotas are generally very reliable. I'm on my 3rd Avensis, my current one is 2 years old and I have put 54,000 trouble free miles on it. Only time it goes back to the garage is for a service. Servicing is cheap even for a main dealer and after sales service is good and professional. My father had a Corolla for 4 years without a bother also.

As for the OP I have no first hand experience of either brands as they don't appeal to me but have heard quite a few stories of electrical problems with French cars in general.

prospect

Trampas wrote:

Like seat's are rubbish and renualt's are world class.

He is of his rocker here, a statment like that is pure BS.

ando wrote:

the Seat IS a Vw/Audi underneath.

Lads, I think you are misreading my post. I am fully aware that VW own Seat, and a huge amount of the parts used on both cars are the same.
What I meant was, I don't classify VW to be hughly better than Renault. So, saying a Seat is a VW, wouldn't win the that argument with me.

silas wrote:

If you want an ultra reliable car buy yourself a Subaru, those things are so reliable its just damn shocking!

I have to agree here. But in the reliability index, Subaru come second last, too Jeep. Seat are 5th.

Tobias Greeshman

prospect wrote:

I have to agree here. But in the reliability index, Subaru come second last, too Jeep. Seat are 5th.

Your taking the p*** right, I've seen the inside of engines of almost every car, including Seats and a JEEP too (surprisingly enough). Never ever heard of anyone ever needing to take a subaru engine apart to do a head gasket on it, its kinda unheard of, strangely enough.

prospect

silas wrote:

Your taking the p*** right, I've seen the inside of engines of almost every car, including Seats and a JEEP too (surprisingly enough). Never ever heard of anyone ever needing to take a subaru engine apart to do a head gasket on it, its kinda unheard of, strangely enough.

Nope, I am 100% deadly serious.
I couldn't believe it either. I was trying to convince my dad to get a 4wd legacy. I kept on about the reliability etc. So we looked up the reliability index to prove my point.
And to my absoloute disbelief:
http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/top10_worst.html?apc=31382522333596

alias no.9

Generalising on any brand is just bullsh1t. Comparing a small family saloon with a supermini to decide which is better is bullsh1t. Deciding if your car, or a car you're thinking of buying suits your needs is what counts. Your car suits your needs, his suits his. I'm guessing he may have a family which is where a megane saloon comes into its own considering it has a bigger boot than a ford scorpio. It's got a much smoother ride too which can become more important as you get old. The Seat may have VW mechanicals, but that's not the same boast it would once have been, VW are living off past glories. In recent years vw have neen let down by poor gearboxes, sticking throttles on 1.4and 1.6's, dodgy coil packs on 1.8 20v's, dodgy Mass Air Flow meters on TDi's, tempremental central locking, taillight bulbs blowing every fortnight, etc... What does this mean? Does it mean that all VW/Audi/Seat/Skodas are bad? Certainly not, it just means there are certain things to look out for if you're thinking of buying one. Like all used cars, you need to make the decision to buy or not based on the car you see before you, not some generic reputation of a brand. Bbability's comments above are possibly the most sensible here, any car is reliable when looked after. I can trump his friends 100k Punto too, my father had a 1984 fiat uno that had over 250k on the clock before he got rid of it.

Most people overvalue their own cars too. It's a desperate attempt to justify an investment that does nothing but lose value.

prospect

alias no.9 wrote:

Most people overvalue their own cars too. It's a desperate attempt to justify an investment that does nothing but lose value.

An excellent point.
I can't stand people who will argue that thier car is the best car EVER, just because they own one. They go out with a limited budget, buy what they can with that budget, and that purchase automatically becomes 'best car ever'. The OP's colleague sounds like one of these people.

I know my Megane is far from the best car on the road. But, for my budget it suited my needs:
I liked the look, as did my wife.
It was up a against the Mazda 3.
But we bought it based on the massive amount of extras included in the Renault, value for money IMO. Also it came with 2 years AA, and 2 years parts & labour, and we only plan to keep the car for 2 years!

I am sure the Ford Focus is a better car, but I just don't like Ford, so that wasn't a runner.

el tel

Trampas,

just tell the guy in work to stop pretending that the Megane is his and admit that it's his mum's

alias no.9

bbability wrote:

Seat on the other hand are a great 2nd hand buy. I nearly bought a Vw golf a few weeks ago until I spotted this Seat ibiza on the web. I went to see it and to be honest I didn't have to think about what car I was going to buy. The Seat had everything and more than the VW and cost nearly €4000 less!!
They were both comfortline 1.4 (same engine in both cars) but the Seat had remote locking and a cd player standard in the car.

Of course the ibiza would be cheaper, its not just a badge swaping exercise, it's based on the Polo, not the Golf. The Seat equivalent of the Golf is the Leon.