Volvo C30 - Car buying lack of thought /knowledge

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Thu 16 Apr 2015 20:34
Volvo C30 - Car buying lack of thought /knowledge - scot22

I have mentioned on other threads about having made a poor choice of car. It may be interesting to hear of mistakes people have made. Then, hopefully, learn from other people's errors.

My errors were when I bought a 4 year old 2007 Volvo C30 diesel. The errors can be divided into two categories.

The first category was stupidity. I was looking for a four door, preferably automatic ( just like them). However, I was taken by the looks of the C30 and convinced myself that two doors was O.K. After a short while I realised that it can be very inconvenient but decision made. I also wanted comfort and the leather seats appealed. After a few months I found I prefer cloth/velour. I didn't realise that the ride is affected by tyre size which goes into ....

The second category which was ignorance. For my motoring, mileage and type, diesel was not suitable.

I have had to pay for a new DPF. When the clutch went the cost was increased for having to pay for a dual mass flywheel. There have been other costs as well which I had not anticipated.

When back at the dealer/ garage I had said about looking for a four door petrol automatic. The salesman directed me towards a diesel Saab coupe with a manual gearbox !

Since I began to regularly visit this forum I have significantly increased my knowledge.

Anyone else to share mistakes ?

I

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Thu 16 Apr 2015 20:48
Volvo C30 - Car buying lack of thought /knowledge - Vitesse6

Bought a Citroen with an automated manual gearbox.

It was so awful I was actually glad when someone ran into it and wrote it off.

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Thu 16 Apr 2015 20:55
Volvo C30 - Car buying lack of thought /knowledge - daveyjp
The cheap price and 5 year warranty lead us to an i20. 6 months was far too long to have owned it, no redeeming features whatsoever,

Thankfully we didn't take too much of a hit when we traded.
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Thu 16 Apr 2015 20:55
Volvo C30 - Car buying lack of thought /knowledge - scot22

Definitely something to avoid !

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Thu 16 Apr 2015 21:00
Volvo C30 - Car buying lack of thought /knowledge - gordonbennet

Sometimes we just buy cars that don't work out.

I bought a 306 td some years ago, nice enough car, went like hell, decent on fuel, good ride and handling, hated the thing from about an hour after buying it and i can't really say why...maybe too small for me.

More recently we bought a Mitsi Outlander 1, it handled fantastically, with its perma four wheel drive it could be husted down wet roads at an amazing rate of knots, but between it's hard ride and it's lack of oomph for the amount of fuel it consumed we just didn't rate it highly enough to keep it...dealers clueless about fault finding and genuine parts prices to make a grown man cry, wouldn't have another Mitsi.

Loads of mistakes years ago.

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Thu 16 Apr 2015 21:30
Volvo C30 - Car buying lack of thought /knowledge - oldroverboy.
I think I have learned to use my head instead of heart. The rover 75's and mg zt's in 1.8 form were probably my worst mistake but the 2.5 v6 was good. A few years back I had an 827 vitesse that was good too.

Edited by oldroverboy. on 16/04/2015 at 21:31

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Thu 16 Apr 2015 22:39
Volvo C30 - Car buying lack of thought /knowledge - craig-pd130

When my wife's Punto was written off after being hit by a drink-driver, we needed a replacement. Our daughter was learning to drive at the time, and was learning in a petrol Corsa D, so we decided to get a nearly-new 1.2 petrol so she'd feel at home.

It's a dispiriting car to drive ... the Punto was cheap and cheerful but at least it was responsive and had a bit of vim about it. The Corsa's controls are just dull and dead, and despite it being the 82bhp version you have to thrash it mercilessly to get it moving on A-roads and motorways. Horrible drive-by-wire throttle too.

The only good thing about it is the roomy interior. We made a mistake buying it; I cannot understand why they're so popular, the current Fiesta is a FAR better car.

Edited by craig-pd130 on 16/04/2015 at 22:40

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