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Conference terri::cars_uk

Title:	Cars in the UK
Notice:	Please read new conference charter 1.70
Moderator:	COMICS::SHELLEYELD

Created:	Sun Mar 06 1994
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	2584
Total number of notes:	63384

2067.0. "WHAT CAR TO BUY?" by DBOT07::RUSSELL () Mon Apr 19 1993 13:56

    
    Hi,
    
    I work in Customer Services here in Dublin. I will be buying a new car
    in the next couple of months. It's for my good wife.
    
    Can I have your opinions on the following models under the criteria
    of ;
    
    	RELIABILITY & ECONOMY
    	COMFORT (incl...interior decorating , stereos etc, extra features)
        RESALE VALUE
    	SPEED
    
    	in DECREASING order of importance...i.e Speed being least
    	important.
    
    
    	The Models are;
    
    	Maker;		Model;
    
    	OPEL		ASTRA 1.4 GL W DOOR
    
    	TOYOTA		COROLLA 1.3 XLI
    
    	NISSAN 		SUNNY 1.4 LX
    
    	MAZDA		323 SALOON
    
    	MITSUBISHI	LANCER 1.3  LX
    
    	SEAT		TOLEDO 1.6 GL
    
    
    
    	Many thanks in advance...
    
    
    	Tadhg Russell, C.S., Dublin.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
2067.1	WHOOPS	DBOT07::RUSSELL		`Mon Apr 19 1993 13:57`	8
	Sorry ...should have read OPEL ASTRA 1.4 GL 4 DOOR = CHEERS, TR
2067.2	Astra	AYOU35::WARREN		`Mon Apr 19 1993 14:09`	12
	TR, IMHO the Astra has/is all of these, with added bonus that spare parts would probably be cheaper than the Jap rivals, but more importantly, no little git will try and steal your radio cos the set is in 2 parts ! But in the long run, it will be YOUR opinion on the car that counts, not everyone elses ! Test drive them and see what you like the best. Warren
2067.3	the BEST and the WORST??	DBOT07::RUSSELL		`Mon Apr 19 1993 17:57`	16
	Warren, thanks for the reply. I did feel that the ASTRA blows the rest of them away. It looks good, has a reliable pedigree, and.....I just plain fancy it. Course my opinion is of no import in this case , as its for my wife, he he he..... An inverse to my original question, which is the worst of the list in .0 .....and why? thanks, Tadhg
2067.4	Good build quality!	PEKING::ATKINSA		`Mon Apr 19 1993 18:02`	9
	Have you thought of a 214 or 414 Rover. I see from your list you've gone for 1.3 to 1.4's and the Honda engine is supposed to be excellent (My Friend loves his). Any help! Andy
2067.5	1.4 = K-Series	MILE::JENKINS	Suitably refreshed	`Mon Apr 19 1993 18:09`	5
	Err.... the 1.4 engine in the Rover is a ROVER engine. The 1.6s are the Honda units. Richard.
2067.6		WIZZER::FISCHER	I can always sleep standing up	`Mon Apr 19 1993 18:11`	5
	And the 1.4 is a good engine - well mine did me well for 60,000 miles Ian
2067.7	Rover - The Plane Maker 8*)	PEKING::SMITHRW	The Great Pyramid of Bloke	`Mon Apr 19 1993 18:13`	6
	...and - I risk being ridiculed here - don't ignore the Maestro. It's got a nice big roomy cabin, rides and handles well and isn't hard to fix. I had one a lot of years ago and I was very pleased. Richard
2067.8	The astra is fine	BERN02::BYRNE		`Tue Apr 20 1993 08:16`	11
	Tadgh, We've had our Oel Astra 1.4 4 door for almost a year and a half now. We've had no major problems except teething problems since it was the first off the production line. Service is every 15,000 kilometers ! Go for it ! Therese
2067.9	A sound choice.	PEKING::ATKINSA		`Tue Apr 20 1993 08:20`	7
	RE.7 Meastro,not bad mechanically,but UGLY. Andy.
2067.10	What happens after 60,000 ???	AYOU35::WARREN		`Tue Apr 20 1993 09:14`	6
	Re 6 :- Ian, did something go wrong with the car after 60,000 miles, or is that when you happened to sell the car ?? I would certainly expect to get a lot more than that out of any engine.
2067.11	Maestro!?	ROCKS::CAMP		`Tue Apr 20 1993 09:29`	12
	Re: .7 I had a Maestro years ago (1600cc) and it was without doubt the slowest and most fuel inefficient car I have ever run. The later versions bigger engined versions MG and alike might be better. It never returned better than 30 MPG no matter how gently it was driven, and was so slow it was stressful to drive on a motorway. Comfortable though, which is most likely due to the fact that it took such a long time to get anywhere. I changed it for a Golf GTI which never did less that 35 MPG, performed brilliantly and was a joy to drive. So if you want to potter around, in comfort with fair amount of space, and low mileage the Maestro could be for you.
2067.12		PEKING::SMITHRW	The Great Pyramid of Bloke	`Tue Apr 20 1993 13:18`	17
	I put about 35k on a maestro 1.3L over about 16 months in 86-87. The water pump failed at 4500 but otherwise reliability was fine. Driving style was heavy-footed, conditions were mostly in and around London and motorways/long queues on M4/M25. Mpg overall was about 35 if memory serves. I thought it was a great car. The 1275cc engine is a version of the old Mini engine. The 1600 engine has served in the Montego for many years and if they were generally as bad as yours seems to have been, I don't think there'd be quite so many Montegoes around. The Maestro MG Turbo is very thirsty, but gets to 60 faster than Ferarris, Porsches, Lambos etc Maestroes are comfortable because they have good seats and a good, well-damped ride. Handling is fine, very safe but a bit slow because it's 4 turns lock to lock. Richard
2067.13	A notesfile sighs	SIOG::KANE	give quiche a tranche	`Tue Apr 20 1993 13:22`	4
	�� Maestro MG Turbo is very thirsty, but gets to 60 faster than Ferarris, �� Porsches, Lambos etc Emmmm....no I'll not bother
2067.14		WIZZER::FISCHER	I can always sleep standing up	`Tue Apr 20 1993 13:35`	1
	The lease terminated at 60k and I got a Calibra!
2067.15	thanks	DBOT07::RUSSELL		`Tue Apr 20 1993 15:06`	9
	Folks, thanks for all the replies so far.... what maker offers the best warranty schemes? ta, Tadhg.
2067.16	Warrany sir, what warranty ???	AYOU35::WARREN		`Tue Apr 20 1993 15:25`	4
	None, they are only interested in your money !! :-)
2067.17	Mitshibushi offers 3 year warranty	UKARC1::ELANGCO		`Tue Apr 20 1993 18:41`	2
	Atleast in Britain anyway.
2067.18	I love my 214.	SAC::WARBURTON		`Tue Apr 20 1993 19:35`	6
	Rover give a 1 year warranty, and you can pay extra to have it extended to a 3 year warranty. Julie.
2067.19	Well I love my ZX 16V	WOTVAX::HATTOS	I think, Therefore I'm paid less	`Tue Apr 27 1993 12:07`	9
	Citroen ZX is mising off your list..... The Aura 1.4 would be worth looking at. It meets all your criteria, but then so do most of the others. The ZX like the ASTRA has had rave reviews for quite some time. Personally I preferred the old Astra shape, but thats down to you, sorry your wife ! Stuart
2067.20	Achtung Tadgh !!	MACNAS::RNOONE		`Wed May 12 1993 14:28`	10
	The Golf was missing as well. I recently got a car in this class and looked at all except the Japanese brands. For us it was down to the Golf or the ZX (hated the Astra, esp. the inside). A close thing but we got a Golf (great deal from local dealer) and are very pleased. Robert.