As a European with very decent public transit and bicycle options, I feel like an idiot for getting a Mazda 3 half a year ago. I really should have tried to make do with a nice cargo bike. Could’ve been hundred of Euros going into my ETF instead of payments, insurance and so on.
Oh well, at least I don’t anticipate a lot of trouble from my Mazda.
I’m a retired Brit living in the middle of the Welsh Marches, 10 miles from the nearest town. There is no public transport. Having a car is vital out here and I dread the day my 13-year-old Tiguan gives up the ghost.
Similar distance from town but in Australia. My 2002 Verada and 1996 Magna just keep on going. Look after them and they’ll usually look after you. Not sure how much built in obsolescence might be in a Tiguan though. Might be old enough to be predictable.
Well if it’s one of the direct injected petrol models, it’s prone to carbon buildup on the valves, which can be cleaned preemptively - if the buildup gets too bad, it can wreck the valves IIRC. If it’s a DSG rather than a conventional automatic or manual, those can be problematic depending on the exact version. Expect a couple grand to fix if it goes wrong. Any chain-driven VAG engine usually doesn’t have a very long lifetime on the chain and they’re a pain to replace.
I wish you luck with the Tiguan, but honestly if I was a Brit living in the countryside, I’d rather be driving a Land Rover. Not that I expect it to be less problematic than VW, I just think they’re cooler and it’s the one country where LR enthusiasts and independent workshops are plentiful.
Oh there’s a good reason I said “not that I expect it to be less problematic” lol
I just have bad experience with VAG cars and know many others who do too. I consider it to be about as horrible to own as JLR, without the cool factor.
Yea some are worse than others too! I don’t love the Ford era stuff. I like the L332 with the bmw V8 believe it or not, and love me a 300tdi cuz despite always leaking oil and having something fucked up they are simple machines that just keep kicking. As long as you know what your getting into! The range rover super charged V8 is a riot too as long as it don’t break while you own it LOL
Personally I really want the Ford diesel, specifically the 4.4 V8 because it comes with the 8HP transmission which is the bees knees and, well, diesel V8!
But late L322s are very expensive here compared to the UK. Usually higher mileage too. I want a depreciated range rover to be at least cheap to buy because I already know it’s not gonna be cheap to maintain. Luckily I do already do my own repairs on all kinds of cars that I’ve owned, almost none of them sensible and simple.
It would in fact be cheaper to get an L405 over a nice L322 but I trust those even less. Aluminium body might be nice here in road salt country, but the electronics seem like too much work.
Perhaps I’ll instead one day take up the project of 8HP swapping an early diesel 322. I know the M57 well enough and they’re cheap. It’s just that I hate the transmission those engines are attached to in these cars lol
As a European with very decent public transit and bicycle options, I feel like an idiot for getting a Mazda 3 half a year ago. I really should have tried to make do with a nice cargo bike. Could’ve been hundred of Euros going into my ETF instead of payments, insurance and so on.
Oh well, at least I don’t anticipate a lot of trouble from my Mazda.
Diesel or petrol? Skyactive diesel engines w/turbo needs one long drive a week to burn the particle filter if you do many short drives
Thanks for the tip! It’s a 2.5L naturally aspirated petrol engine, which hopefully should be rather reliable.
I’m a retired Brit living in the middle of the Welsh Marches, 10 miles from the nearest town. There is no public transport. Having a car is vital out here and I dread the day my 13-year-old Tiguan gives up the ghost.
Simply buy a 20 year old honda.
I drive an 18 year old Honda with 250k km on the clock right now and it’s been sunshine and rainbows for the last 20K atleast
Similar distance from town but in Australia. My 2002 Verada and 1996 Magna just keep on going. Look after them and they’ll usually look after you. Not sure how much built in obsolescence might be in a Tiguan though. Might be old enough to be predictable.
Well if it’s one of the direct injected petrol models, it’s prone to carbon buildup on the valves, which can be cleaned preemptively - if the buildup gets too bad, it can wreck the valves IIRC. If it’s a DSG rather than a conventional automatic or manual, those can be problematic depending on the exact version. Expect a couple grand to fix if it goes wrong. Any chain-driven VAG engine usually doesn’t have a very long lifetime on the chain and they’re a pain to replace.
I wish you luck with the Tiguan, but honestly if I was a Brit living in the countryside, I’d rather be driving a Land Rover. Not that I expect it to be less problematic than VW, I just think they’re cooler and it’s the one country where LR enthusiasts and independent workshops are plentiful.
As somebody who primarily works on land rovers, LOL. They are certainly designed to keep us in business !
Oh there’s a good reason I said “not that I expect it to be less problematic” lol
I just have bad experience with VAG cars and know many others who do too. I consider it to be about as horrible to own as JLR, without the cool factor.
Yea some are worse than others too! I don’t love the Ford era stuff. I like the L332 with the bmw V8 believe it or not, and love me a 300tdi cuz despite always leaking oil and having something fucked up they are simple machines that just keep kicking. As long as you know what your getting into! The range rover super charged V8 is a riot too as long as it don’t break while you own it LOL
Personally I really want the Ford diesel, specifically the 4.4 V8 because it comes with the 8HP transmission which is the bees knees and, well, diesel V8!
But late L322s are very expensive here compared to the UK. Usually higher mileage too. I want a depreciated range rover to be at least cheap to buy because I already know it’s not gonna be cheap to maintain. Luckily I do already do my own repairs on all kinds of cars that I’ve owned, almost none of them sensible and simple.
It would in fact be cheaper to get an L405 over a nice L322 but I trust those even less. Aluminium body might be nice here in road salt country, but the electronics seem like too much work.
Perhaps I’ll instead one day take up the project of 8HP swapping an early diesel 322. I know the M57 well enough and they’re cheap. It’s just that I hate the transmission those engines are attached to in these cars lol