VW cars don't come out that great in the reliability reports (well made interiors do not make a reliable car)
If reliability is all then you cannot do worse than go Japanese - almera/corollas etc
And if you want reliable but d> We've recently seen a lot of low mileage (20/30k) FSH 2001/2002 Skoda > Fabia
In message , John writes
My 52 plate 48k mile Leon:
Bought with 2 months left on manufacturers warranty, in that time it had:
New climate control back light New TCS switch New dash dimmer Door seals hold water
Out of warranty:
Air Con compressor failed, noisily and expensively Side window motor smashed the glass
Currently: Losing coolant, no leaks Door seals holding water again Starts first time, but not always on 4 cylinders
Not Seats fault, but more evidence that I've got "one of those cars": Stonechip in windscreen - fixed cheaply
1 week later windscreen randomly cracks while parked in work car park Car broken into using famed security flaw, had to delockOn the plus side I changed a headlight bulb in two minutes!
Waiting for the worst of winter to be done with and then going to trade it in for something reliable. New civic is out of budget probably, so looking at Almera/Focus, hadn't considered the Corolla until this thread, so they're in as well.
No Golfs for me, too pricey and other half has a Polo which although much better than previous Ka is starting to get a couple of niggles now it's just out of warranty.
well on volvo's they are always on, HID's are the answer there :) i was surprised how easy my 328 is for changing headlight bulbs. with the lump of an engine in there i was expecting it to be tight and fiddley and to lose some knuckles but nope! not even any swearing involved :)
"Vamp" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@pipex.net:
Not necessarily. My 10 year old Volvo features a small screw head in the corner of the lightswitch that can be turned to disable the daytime running lamps. I expect that all newer models feature this also, but it seems that many owners prefer to leave them working.
Personally, I prefer to use dipped headlights in any conditions at all that warrant lighting, e.g. dull and/or rainy days, so I don't bother with the daytime running feature because sidelights do nothing to improve visibility in bright conditions.
Stu
New Volvos have a Vadis option to turn DRL on or off, most dealers will do it free as part of a service or when collecting a new / used car. Or buying lots of headlamp bulbs.
I prefer them on, and the auto setting on the merc comes on quite early.
Seemingly better than Volvo.
He does.
And the Cupra R is great in a sort of "this isn't quite German in the way it drives but it's fun nevertheless" way. I like it.
Errr, no.
Replacing a headlight bulb yes, the rest of it, no.
Check to see how easy (or not) it is to replace a Civic headlight bulb.
None.
Replacing a headlight bulb on just about *anything* isn't easy.
Deal with it.
Or a Corolla :-)
Chris
Hmm, you mean: remove back cover, remove bulb holder, replace bulb, refit holder, refit back cover ? (I think the air intake hose may have to come off on the driver's side, though.)
Access to the indicator bulbs does require removal of some lining in the wheel arches.
None of the bulbs on my Civic requires a trip to the dealers or anything like.
-- "I've been seduced by the chocolate side of the force."
The Octavia is easy. But looking at the missus's fabia, unless I go to the now defunct local dealership, I imagine it is something like, Remove the rear hatch, then continue forward removing anything that you find in the way until you reach the headlanmp. Then remove the headlamp.
refitting is the reverse of removal.
Well, they are a VW, but cheaper and sportier.
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