For those that are thinking of purchasing a newer car

[MSS]

We have a 2011 Corsa D 1.2 SXI in petrol 83HP form. It has features such as cruise control, trip computer etc. and returns over 40MPG average or around 50MPG on a run.

All normal maintenance items, as well as long-term wear items such as shocks, springs, suspension arms, brakes etc. are as cheap as chips, even genuine Vauxhall items don't cost the earth. The car is a pleasure to drive and we've done nearly as many miles in this over the last two years as the other 4 cars combined.

Similarly, parts for an Astra H or J cost very little - even an aftermarket headlamp is less than £100.

People just have to choose wisely and with due consideration given to what is important in each case - individuality, running cost etc.

Prestige cars such as Mercs, Jags, BMW, Audi will aways carry a high maintenance cost. Even then, there are some very good independent garages covering these marques.

[sworks]

I must be in the minority, I absolutely love my 75 and it is looked after with no expense spared but it’s a 16 year old car and it drives that way. The tech in its day was pretty good thanks to BMW but dated by comparison. I have an almost 2 year old IONQ and I use that at every opportunity as no 75 drives as nice as it does and this is a fact unfortunately. Regarding technology advancements, yes they have issues but that’s like saying your tv has more to go wrong than your radio So we should of stuck with radios, it’s progress!
I was driving up the M6 recently and the cars adaptive braking slowed me down this was due to the car two in front braking harder than expected and nobody’s reaction time is that good, it certainly wasn’t for the car in front. I get that we all love the 75 but they rent in the same league as newer cars.
I’m currently in the market for another TF as I want convertible motoring but instead of enjoying the search it fills me with dread as it’s an old car

[MSS]

Originally Posted by sworks

I must be in the minority, I absolutely love my 75 and it is looked after with no expense spared but it’s a 16 year old car and it drives that way. The tech in its day was pretty good thanks to BMW but dated by comparison. I have an almost 2 year old IONQ and I use that at every opportunity as no 75 drives as nice as it does and this is a fact unfortunately. Regarding technology advancements, yes they have issues but that’s like saying your tv has more to go wrong than your radio So we should of stuck with radios, it’s progress!
I was driving up the M6 recently and the cars adaptive braking slowed me down this was due to the car two in front braking harder than expected and nobody’s reaction time is that good, it certainly wasn’t for the car in front. I get that we all love the 75 but they rent in the same league as newer cars.
I’m currently in the market for another TF as I want convertible motoring but instead of enjoying the search it fills me with dread as it’s an old car

You are not! See

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...9&postcount=18

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...9&postcount=32

[Andy24601]

I've posted this before, but I've recently had the water pump and belts replaced on my 2.5 V6 - unfortunately the increased pressure from the new pump (or something) proved too much for the radiator and I had to have a new one - total cost = £1035. There have been a few people (obviously not on this forum) that have questioned the legitimacy of spending money on such an old car...
1,Now here's the thing... I think that If you are going to tool around in old cars then new timing belts are more or less a service item
2, I am vaguely spanner-competent and therefore I have been able to do most of the jobs that needed doing on my car myself
The car 'only' cost £1500 in the first place and so I don't have any monthly payments to meet/loans to finance/ lease agreements to satisfy (and the car is mine)
3, Parts are easy to source (either new or second-hand) and prices are reasonable
4, I did lots of work on the car during the various lock-downs and this definitely gave me a positive focus during troubled times
5, I really, really, really like driving my Rover and it actually makes even driving to work a pleasure

[SCP440]

All the time you can unbolt one part and replace it with another part with little more than some tools admittedly specialist tools in some cases we can keep our cars going for as long as replacement parts are still available as well as the knowledge is still about.

The problem comes when software and updates or coding is involved, this takes it away from the average person at home even with tools and this is where this new generation of vehicles are going to be uneconomical to repair, yes the part can be bolted on as before but if a specialist is going to charge several hundred pounds to make it do what it is supposed to do it will probably be uneconomical to repair.

Last year I replaced a fuel pressure regulator on my Transit Van, about an hours work and very easy if a bit fiddly. the problem was the learns. The ECU needed to learn the new pressures, before it would do that it had to relearn the injectors. Luclily I have the software to to do this but a local non Franchised dealer qouted me £500, a main dealer wanted £700. The total job including learns was about 2 hours.

[Gigagator]

The 75 and ZT, lovely as they are, are getting into a niche ownership category now. They are either owned by someone who has picked one up for peanuts with some MOT on it and will run it into the ground for a year, or by an enthusiast like most of us here who will care and cherish and think nothing of the time and money to keep them at their best.

There isn't really a middle ground as these cars are at an age where they need the attention.

My first child was born in October 2020 and I had a few problems with the 75 which I had no inclination to be spending precious time outside in winter fixing when I had a newborn baby indoors.

I needed (and quite frankly, wanted) something where I knew I could jump in and go anywhere at any time without having to carry spares and tools with me in the boot (needed all the space for the pram and other baby ancillaries).

At one point before my daughters birth, my 75 cut out on the steep hill out of our estate - it was early in the morning and no traffic so I managed to roll it down and onto my driveway, backwards, with no engine power so no power steering or servo assist on the brakes.
It's all well and good, and it was a good laugh and she fired up fine the next day, but when you have a new baby you just want something where there is zero worry.

After first having a 2008 Jaguar XF 3L V6 petrol (which was stunning to drive but the underside was scarily crispy) I ended up buying a low miles 2019 Mazda 6.

Not as luxurious to drive as the 75 or the XF but she is built better than anything I've driven before and leaves the Germans in the dust for build quality. Family experience with Mazda's are that they are pretty bulletproof so hopefully that Japanese reliability holds true throughout my ownership which I plan to be for at least the next 10 years.

I still have my 75, she is tucked away in a relatives garage and I regularly have a yearning to get her back on the road. I have a lot of emotional attachment to the car which prevents me from selling her and I would never even contemplate scrapping.

I fired her up and moved her out of the garage a few weeks ago for the first time since April and my god, instantly upon sitting in the drivers seat I was just cossetted by the supple cloth seats and that gorgeous, classy interior - I just wanted to nap immediately it was so comfy.
Neither the Jag nor the Mazda come even close in terms of comfort.

That said, these days I find time and patience is in short supply and I am extremely glad to have the Mazda to rely on as a family car - supplemented by my fiancées Rover 25 which has just turned 18 years old and soldiering on.

Everyone has a different reason and circumstance for wanting to move onto a newer car. What works for you may not work for them and vice versa.

[SCP440]

I was having this very conversation with some one this morning and he had a good analogy.

A modern car is like a Sainsburys ready meal, does what it says on the packet but rarely more, an older car is more like a Barbecue. You are probably going to enjoy it a lot more but inevitably it is going to be more work and in the process you will probably either break or burn something.

[grivas]

Originally Posted by SCP440

A good friend of mine has a Land Rover Discovery Sport, it is 6 months out of warranty and he has had owned it for about 12 months. On a recent trip to Scotland he kept getting a warning that the steering assistants was going to be turned off and it did on a couple of occasions, it would come back if he switched off the car and restarted it.

Any way it went into the dealer today for investigation. He was charged £280 to investigate the problem and all it needed was a software update

You cant tell me they didnt know exactly what the problem was likely to be and he was warned it might need another update if the problem comes back.

Anyway while on the ramp it was noticed it needs a new header tank for the cooling system but they didnt have one in stock, the part is £180, the sensors need coding to the car and it will take about an hour to fit, total cost will be over £350.

This is on a 42 month old car with 22k miles on it.

And that as they say, is why anyone with an ounce of the grey matter between the ears, AVOIDS anything whose name begins with Land Rover, these cars are garbage!, full of problems, expensive to buy, run, maintain and service, parts cost eye-watering amounts, that is why they are driven by certain members of society, where money grows on trees.
Just AVOID, buy instead a Toyota, Honda or Mitsubishi, can't go wrong.

[MSS]

Originally Posted by grivas

And that as they say, is why anyone with an ounce of the grey matter between the ears, AVOIDS anything whose name begins with Land Rover, these cars are garbage!, full of problems, expensive to buy, run, maintain and service, parts cost eye-watering amounts, that is why they are driven by certain members of society, where money grows on trees.
Just AVOID, buy instead a Toyota, Honda or Mitsubishi, can't go wrong.

Now, here lies the problem. The car you own is far more like an LR than one of those peasant mobiles from far-away lands. When is your classy go-fast Honda Jazz being delivered?

[edwardmk]

Originally Posted by FLYING BANANA

A fellow MG ZTT V8 owner bought a Jaguar I-Pace. Out and about in his new pride and joy, he kept the V8, a stone got kicked up and hit the Jaguars plastic headlight pod. Made a neat hole in the plastic. He phoned his local Jaguar garage and booked the car in to have the unit replaced. Cost £3,500. And he tells me it’s cheap on electricity.

Holy expletive deleted