Trade-In valuations

[sean sherry]

300,000 Ks on a small car, that puts high priced Europeans in the shade.
The Mercedes Dealer who attended to my many Warranty Problems, " boasted " that they have several Customers ( C Class ) who's Auto Box achieved 150,000 Ks. As we only travel about 8000 Ks on both our Cars , they should see us into the Grave ( as we say in the Emerald Isle )
I will follow with interest the history of my Golf and Styria's Honda.
But looks like the Honda will be a hard act to follow.

 

[motec 6.9]

I have not seen a Japanese or Korean car in last 15 year's that will not do at least 300000km without a single failure if serviced correctly.

 

[motec 6.9]

Just as a point off interest my KIA Cerato is now 12 weeks old and has over 12000km on it . Faultless so far .

 

[sean sherry]

Well like you Brian , I have a sensible Female in the Family.
No 1 Daughter ( now 47 ) tells me she has just bought a 2013 Hyundai Diesel Wagon., and scoured the internet for Insurance costs etc. Hopefully it too will last for 300,000Ks. A sigh of relief as it was not always thus. With an Economics / Law Degree and years in the Diplomatic Service she was hopeless with Money. The other younger Daughter Cathy was always Street Wise.

I have enjoyed the variation in topics of late in T.K. not all Mercedes woes, and have learned a few things ,abet late in life.

 

[BenzBoy]

Well like you Brian , I have a sensible Female in the Family.
No 1 Daughter ( now 47 ) tells me she has just bought a 2013 Hyundai Diesel Wagon., and scoured the internet for Insurance costs etc. Hopefully it too will last for 300,000Ks. A sigh of relief as it was not always thus. With an Economics / Law Degree and years in the Diplomatic Service she was hopeless with Money. The other younger Daughter Cathy was always Street Wise.

I have enjoyed the variation in topics of late in T.K. not all Mercedes woes, and have learned a few things ,abet late in life.

I also had un-sensible females in the family! My other drove a Torana SLR5000 until she decided to give up driving at age of 86. I suspect she used to put it in 4th and drive like that all day.
Regards,
Brian

 

[sean sherry]

Perhaps someone can explain the 7 year Warranty to me. ( No free lunch )
Are you tied to a Dealer for Servicing, with all the opportunities for a forced up sell ?

I know that with first 3 years Statuary Warranty, all that is required is that a licenced Workshop carries out the Log Book Servicing.

 

[Styria]

Yes, strangely I also received an invitation to Trivet's end of year sale - complete with a glass of champagne and a chicken sandwich. No mention of Honda though....
Styria, there is no way you are serious about selling the Jazz so let's face reality. You like Julie's car and it is economic madness to sell so stop even thinking about it. My sister has put almost 300,000 kms on her Civic in 5 years and apart from replacing brakes all she has had to do is a set of rear shock absorbers because one began leaking. It was less than $200 for that job - you're on a good thing so stick to it. (Well unless your heart desire something like Mr Fast and Furious and then you will have to dig deep into the wallet to keep it up to speed.)
Regards,
Brian

There certainly appears to be a class distinction.......we were offered Polish Salami and non-alcoholic beer. . Regards. Styria

 

[Oversize]

I understand the theory of spending double the price if it'll last twice as long since the experience of ownership is superior. However with the development of very reliable cheap transport that lasts ages with better warranties it makes you wonder why you'd spend big and lose a fortune on depreciation. I think MB needs to completely rethink their warranty policies

 

[Styria]

It's interesting us talking about trade in values, as well as warranty considerations. One step further - reliability of a car as distinct to having a lemon in your household. I am talking about the four wheeled variety.

One other car that has always attracted my attention has been the Ford Focus from 2012 on. A good luncheon friend owns a lovely looking red Focus that he paid $28k. for and it is now just about out of warranty. I have always admired the car, and he proudly keeps on reminding me "you know, it's German made, not Thailand". I have heard it three or four times now. No worry, it's a factor that appeals to me as well (German Made, jawohl), but rightly or wrongly, Ford made hmm........not totally 100% confident. You always seem to read about the "odd lemon", yet other reports lavish high praise on the Blue Oval badge product.

Blow me down when he just told me that his car suffered a catastrophic gearbox failure at six thousand kilometers. Obviously, fixed under warranty with a courtesy car supplied. All good. Now however, with the warranty expiring (ed), he's been informed that he has a leaking rear main seal in the engine although, he tells me, there are no tell tale signs on the garage floor. You know, oil leaks etc. They want the car for four days, but to their credit, the job is being done free of charge. That's the story, for us to ponder on. Regards. Syria

 

[sean sherry]

German made ? well more lightly by Turks etc on the assembly line.
Oil leaks ,as reported before our C Class was back and back to the Dealer to stop leaks. Eventually fixed when the Auto Box had been removed twice to find it.
I recall a conversation with a Japanese Lady Engineer who explained that Japanese Men ( who rarely take their Holidays ) go home on Friday Night, after perfecting a Product, and then spend all Week End trying to devise ways to improve upon perfection. Do Europeans have this work ethic today ?

The British lost the Plot long ago, but they still produce a large number of Cars which are owned by the Japanese and run under their management Systems. And here ? the Europeans departed long ago and now the Americans and the Japanese are heading for the exits.
I know that a small market and the Tyranny of Distance (Jeffery Blainey ) is an impossible obstacle to overcome.
But not to forget that "Nero Fiddled while Rome Burned" .

 

[motec 6.9]

My understanding is that everyone is having reliability issues with dual clutch transmissions. From Ford to VW it would appear to be a dead end as they are now working on normal auto transmissions with 8 or more gears.

 

[sean sherry]

Dual Clutch . Ah ,they have seen the light. Torque Converter Transmissions have been developed to near perfection. I Hired an Auto Goff recently in Qld. and was not impressed. Glad to get back to my 6 speed manual version.
Eight and 9 speed Autos, slightly better performance and economy, but at what cost ? An internal needle roller bearing failure and it is a cement mixer. As my old Transmission Shop owner now says ,European Cars are not suited to Autos and small cars should be Manual. Four gears and an over drive 5th Gear. Maybe an Automatic Clutch for City driving and move the gear stick yourself. It can't be that hard to learn to do !
America is the home of Autos ,which are suited to their larger ,low revving, Hi Torque engines. Modern Torque Converter Clutches keep the Revs down,and accurate fuel injection and ignition systems reduce Fuel consumption to acceptable levels. And also coupled with much better Cylinder Head designs etc., etc.

 

[Styria]

I guess one could say that I am getting paranoid and boring talking about the Honda, but it has a five speed Automatic, is blessed with paddle shifters both up and down, does 2100 rpm at one hundred kilometres an hour and......please forgive me, guys. Regards Styria

N.B. Also, unfortunately, the latest Honda Jazz has a CVT transmission - they are supposed to be SO good, but I hear the whispers, even on new Nissans tested in America. I've never driven a car with CVT, but I understand it's different. Anybody on here shed some light on this ?

 

[Helmet]

First time I drove a CVT I thought the auto was gone. You get used to it after a while

 

[motec 6.9]

Had a CVT Corolla hatch as my company car in 2013 it was fine. Did 65000km in that year.

 

[sean sherry]

No 2 Daughter has a Subaru CVT. Very smooth and trouble free. Much prefer it to a Duel Clutch Unit. CVTs have been around for a long time..
my 500cc 1913 Rudge M/ Cycle had a mechanically operated Fibre Belt system using expanding pulleys front and back. Engine Pulley and rear wheel pulley.
Easy to ride . leave on two thirds hand throttle and just move the Gear Lever up and down as necessary.
Only problem was the rain on an open Fibre Belt.. walk the Hills !