New cars, A ticking time bomb.....

vpulsar

vpulsar

Well-Known Forum User
I just thought I share a few thoughts on this subject with you guys ;).

I think that their will be no more future classic cars for the younger generation to get into, The rot has really set in now with all these new so called improvements in car design, The kind of things I'm talking about are keyless cars with 20 computers built into them and flappy paddle gearboxes, Just how are future car enthusiasts supposed to work on these in their own garages or on their drives :confused::confused::confused:.

Just as an example we own a 2006 Golf R32 that will be a right nightmare in the future, Even now it is a pain in the arse, The first problem we had was that the high level brake light built into the rear spoiler stopped working, Now you and I would of probably thought to ourselves that all was needed was a new bulb, How wrong we would of been :eek:, In fact you need a whole new spoiler fitted which includes having to paint the bugger and bond it on :eek:, Now we where lucky and just got it fixed before the warranty ran out, The second problem was that after having a new headlight fitted due to a minor accident (a silly blond backed into us) the head lights where out of line, We didn't notice until recently when it started to get darker earlier, Now how would you think you adjust the headlights then ?.

Option 1 screw driver ?.

Option 2 in car switch ?.

Option 3 plug it into a bloody computer ?.

That's right Option bloody 3 :confused:, What the hell is going through the tiny minds of these bloody car designers these days ? :unsure::unsure:.

Plus I'm just waiting for our fancy twin clutch flappy paddle box to start playing up :rolleyes:, No wonder I still love my old 10 year old Xantia and I'm sure I will feel the same way about the old Z when it comes on the road in the spring hopefully..

Rant over lol


Rob
 
Got my eye on a 2000 306 S16 - gotta be a future classic with 170bhp and 6 gears. What follows though is going to cost an arm and leg to keep on the road as they're not terribly reliable with all these electronics.......even if one can fix 'em !
 
306 is ok Sean but try the Xsara equivalent-My VTS has the the same floor pan/running gear as a 306GTI and they are usually cheaper. The other advantage is that it does not have the 6 speed box..........

And before you ask the 6th speed is tacked onto the box which then needs an extended casing meaning you get a reduced steering lock (which is not that great with 195s on anyway )

To come back on track a friend of mine had an S16 which she eventually had to get rid off as it had an electronic problem, probably in the engine wiring loom, that a succession of main dealers couldn't find even with their expensive computer diagnostic equipment, What hope would their be for the home mechanic trying to fix that?
 
I know new cars are safer and generally handle and stop far better, But I think they have now evolved to far myself, Just look at anything German these days, What hope do people have who own them in ten years time have of home maintenance.

Only people who can afford all the fancy diagnostic equipment will be able to work on these kind of cars in the future, And to be honest what do they make these days that isn't to complicated that you'd actually want to own or keep on the road in the future, Apart from maybe the Monaro which isn't to over loaded with gimmickry....

So the choice for those of us that are not loaded will be very limited indeed....



Rob
 
all done to keep you from fixing it and to bring money into the dealership, you re right though , if you cant access the computer you cant fix it
 
twoforty said:
all done to keep you from fixing it and to bring money into the dealership, you re right though , if you cant access the computer you cant fix it
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Now it has got the stage where you need a bloody computer to adjust the headlights I think it's time to take a step backwards and think about just what we're doing to ourselves, Just think about how our kids would cope if you took all this technology away from them, They'd not only starve they'd have walk everywhere as well ;):lol::lol::lol:.




Rob
 
ive felt the same way for a few years now, the only new-ish car ive ever owned is a t reg alfa romeo 2.0ltr twin spark selespeed with a trip tronic gear box, bloody thing...........reasonably quick, drives and handles very well but a tw@ to work on, the hydrolic pump for the gearbox kept playing up and when it does, you cant change gear!!

ive owned many old skool cars like the xr3i, xr4x4, capri, mk1 golf and they were very reliable. ive owned a sw20 mr2 g-limited, g reg 200sx turbo, h reg celica gt and they were all fine too, its these newer cars with all there feckin gizmos!!! lol

just my 2 pence :)
 
There was a programme on the tv recently where they were saying that on some of the latest cars you can't even change the headlight bulbs yourself!....It's a main dealer job which includes them having to remove the whole front bumper to access them and then reset the engine management system too!
I think the latest Renault Megane Scenic and certain VW Golf models were two that were mentioned!
 
Ask yourself why the Xsara is cheaper.........I don't like the dash, the car in profile and over here, it's old men that drive 'em !

It was always hard enough just changing the plugs on a Z31.........
 
JEZ 280ZX said:
There was a programme on the tv recently where they were saying that on some of the latest cars you can't even change the headlight bulbs yourself!....It's a main dealer job which includes them having to remove the whole front bumper to access them and then reset the engine management system too!
I think the latest Renault Megane Scenic and certain VW Golf models were two that were mentioned!
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It showed some sort of Renault on last series of 5th gear, I think it took about 1hour or so for the AA man to change bulb.
 
twoforty said:
all done to bring money into the dealership,
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Which takes me back to when I had a new 205gti 1.9, it failed it's first MOT on rotten brake pipes & when I asked why they didn't last longer I was told "a job for the boys".
 
twoforty said:
all done to keep you from fixing it and to bring money into the dealership, you re right though , if you cant access the computer you cant fix it
Click to expand...

agree on this, this is also why they don't care about what it'll be like to maintain in 10 years, because they'll be needing your money for a new car then. (also they need those bells and whistles to sell their new cars 'keeping up' with the competition).

My dad has a polo bought new several years ago and I don't think it's cheaper to run than my 22 year old z31 (rust issues aside ;)) - probably more expensive actually. The garage always needs 'special tools' to do the most basic shit. You can't even change the lights easily. :rolleyes:

for this reason my 'beater' car is a 16 yr. old fiat cinquecento (and will be till it dies completely ;)). 1 breakdowns in 7 years:cool:

when it does die, i'll replace it with something similar from the 80's or early 90's. A Sunny maybe? :D
 
SeanDezart said:
Got my eye on a 2000 306 S16 - gotta be a future classic with 170bhp and 6 gears. What follows though is going to cost an arm and leg to keep on the road as they're not terribly reliable with all these electronics.......even if one can fix 'em !
Click to expand...

Back in the 1990s I used to drive a lot of daily rental hire cars and one of my favourites was the Peugeot 306 DTurbo 3 door model...It only had the standard 90hp? turbo diesel engine, but stiffer suspension and recaro style supportive seats.
The performance back then seemed quite sprightly for a diesel, up to about 70mph at least!... but the car handled like a go kart compared to most cars back then and I seriously considered getting one.
One of the brand new hire cars already had an electrical probem with the driver's side window though!
 
SeanDezart said:
Ask yourself why the Xsara is cheaper.........I don't like the dash, the car in profile and over here, it's old men that drive 'em !

It was always hard enough just changing the plugs on a Z31.........
Click to expand...

Changing the plugs on a Z31 is easy!...As long as you've got the Nissan supplied piece of tubing still in the toolkit, to remove them from their deep ports!
It was the Z32 model where changing the plugs became more of a pain!... As you have to remove individual coilpacks to access each one and the plastic attachments and associated wiring crumble to dust before your eyes!
 
no one has embarked on the recycling issues here, todays cars not only need specalist equipmeant for repairs and maintanence but are built with materials that are designed to be melted down and re used, restoration isn,t in the equasion although it never was, restoration just evolved, its just unlikely that mass production cars of the last 3 years or so will not lend themselves to restoration, ok you could still weld a rusted 2009 shell in 20 years time but as for ecu's canbus systems and all the other plastic bits probably no chance, anyway i'll be drawing me pension by then well nearly mind you though still playing with me Z;)
 
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